Chandigarh-Manali highway closed due to landslides, highway blocked
Traffic on the Chandigarh-Manali national highway has been blocked following massive landslides along the Beas river in Himachal Pradesh
Shimla: Traffic on the Chandigarh-Manali national highway has been blocked following massive landslides along the Beas river in Himachal Pradesh, police said on Monday.
However, there were no reports of any casualties.
Nearly 100 metres of the national highway was badly damaged in the landslide that occurred near Pandoh in Mandi district. Hundreds of vehicles remained stranded on both sides of the affected area.
A day earlier, the traffic on the highway was hampered near Aut owing to swollen river that inundated the highway.
The police have stopped vehicular traffic beyond Mandi toward Kullu and from Kullu towards Mandi.
Official sources said the supply of milk, bread, newspaper and other household items was impacted with the closure of the highway, the lifeline of Kullu-Manali segment.
The alternate road link between Mandi and Kullu via Kataula has been hampered by the massive landslide near Kamad since Sunday night, official sources said.
The district administration of Mandi and Kullu districts have advised visitors to suspend their journey on the Mandi-Kullu route until the restoration of highway. It is expected that the highway will be restored by this evening.
In the state two people drowned over the past 48 hours while several vehicles and houses were damaged as the monsoon rains intensified.
Mandi district is the worst affected that saw flash floods, landslides and cloudbursts.
Ms Kalinga