Come May month, uni-directional traffic system would be imposed on Manali-Rohtang highway in an effort to combat one of the worst traffic jams on the hill roads of the world. The rise in temperature is forcing people to rush to the hill stations. Lakhs of tourists will head to Manali, particularly snow points of Rohtang, to get some respite. To prevent thousands of vehicles from choking the narrow road to Rohtang, Kullu administration has decided to make the Rohtang highway one way and impose timing-system. The highway leading to Manali town would also be made one-way. Kullu DC Yunus while holding a meeting with officials of all the departments, associations and stakeholders prior to the start of peak tourist season said vehicles going to Rohtang, Lahaul-Spiti, Pangi and Ladakh would be allowed to go till noon after which entry from Manali side would be restricted. “Once all vehicles reach Rohtang, the vehicles coming from opposite side would be allowed to come towards Manali. This will probably end all traffic bottlenecks and traffic will move smoothly.” He said vehicles entering Manali town will have to take another route for the exit. “We shall keep a close watch on vehicles jumping the queues. Overtaking would not be tolerated if any vehicle is found breaking the queue in case of jam or slow traffic,” he added. Talking about compliance of National Green Tribunal (NGT) order on Rohtang pass, Yunus said permit would be issued only to 1,300 vehicles to go to Rohtang pass for tourism purpose. Besides this quota, vehicles going to Lahaul-Spiti or Ladakh would not be allowed to come back from Rohtang. Vehicles violating the rules would be fined with Rs 5,000 and can be impounded. We have improved the online permit booking website and mobile app,” he added. Kullu SP
Come May month, uni-directional traffic system would be imposed on Manali-Rohtang highway in an effort to combat one of the worst traffic jams on the hill roads of the world. The rise in temperature is forcing people to rush to the hill stations. Lakhs of tourists will head to Manali, particularly snow points of Rohtang,
Very few advance hotel booking for the summer tourist season is worrying hoteliers in Himachal who believe continuing IPL matches and upcoming Lok Sabha elections will put their impact on the tourism till May 23. Peak summer tourist season in Himachal begins in mid-April and lasts till June end. As most hotels remain fully occupied during this duration, most of the tourists prefer booking hotels in advance. This year most of the hotels are complaining about very less booking. Hoteliers think this could be the impact of IPL matches and elections which can continue to affect their business until May 23 when the result of the election will be announced. A hotelier Ludar Chand said he is receiving very less advance booking if compared with last year. “90 percent of our clients come via online booking. Summer season is starting next month but there is almost no booking. Cricket matches put a negative impact on tourism as crores of people like to stay stick to the TV screens. Our booking agents say booking will remain little slow during elections as well,” he said. Another hotelier Surender Maheshwari said Lok Sabha election being the largest festival of the country and more and more people taking interest in politics is the reason people may choose elections over tourism. “This is the condition of almost all hoteliers in Himachal. Very few inquiries are pouring in. We get two and a half months to earn money. We hope June will bring us good business.” Hotels in Manali do a brisk business in the summer season when tourists head to hills to escape from the scorching heat of the plains. The hoteliers have to earn expenses for the whole year from business in a limited time period. Hoteliers earlier believed that tension in Kashmir will
Very few advance hotel booking for the summer tourist season is worrying hoteliers in Himachal who believe continuing IPL matches and upcoming Lok Sabha elections will put their impact on the tourism till May 23. Peak summer tourist season in Himachal begins in mid-April and lasts till June end. As most hotels remain fully occupied
The ground floors of houses in Solang and Kothi villages of Manali have buried under the white blanket as over 5ft of snow has accumulated here after many spells of very heavy snowfall since January. The snow accumulation below the roofs have reached 10 to 15ft. Snow has entered the balconies and verandahs. Snowfall is delighting tourists here but it has come as a disaster to Solang village of Manali where a house has demolished after landslides below the village, while another houses of the village is on verge of collapse. A house which can collapse any time has been vacated. The land has developed huge cracks which are advancing towards other houses. The house of Nokh Ram collapsed on Monday night. Fortunately they had already shifted to new house and were using it to store firewood and fodder. The family of Gokul Chand has evacuated the house for safety. Solang and Kothi villages have received over 20ft of snow since December and are still covered with over 4ft thick white blanket. The melting of the snow has triggered landslides below Solang village which is situated on the edge of the mountain, about 1,000ft above the valley. The village having about 50 houses has witnessed a massive avalanche after three decades. The terrified residents are still crossing 30ft high avalanche debris to reach home. “We have received such heavy snowfall after many years. From the backside we are under threat of avalanche and from front side the foundation of the whole village is sliding. The cracks on ground can be seen above the snow surface as well which has opened several feet wide. We are spending sleepless nights,” a resident of Solang village Roshan Lal said. With no road connectivity, Kothi residents had to stay indoors for many days in
The ground floors of houses in Solang and Kothi villages of Manali have buried under the white blanket as over 5ft of snow has accumulated here after many spells of very heavy snowfall since January. The snow accumulation below the roofs have reached 10 to 15ft. Snow has entered the balconies and verandahs. Snowfall is
The unexpected snowfall in Manali that started despite high temperature on Monday evening thrilled tourists here but fruit growers are worried a lot as snow may have destroyed plum, apricot and peach crops at some places. Manali recorded minimum temperature of 3.6 degrees C in last 4 hours. The maximum day temperature was recorded at 16.4 degrees C. There was no possibility of snowfall at such high temperature. Despite this the town and nearby places are experiencing snowfall. Lower areas including Kullu and Bhuntar towns are witnessing thundershowers. Till late evening, Manali town had received 10cm of fresh snow. Solang valley received over 15cm of snow. High mountain peaks including Rohtang pass too are receiving heavy snow since afternoon. Snowfall in Manali always brings cheer to hoteliers but it also brings some problems like landslides and cold. Tourists in Manali started shouting and blowing whistles out of excitement. These days tourists are heading to Solang valley to see snow. Nobody had expected snowfall and were expecting gradual rise in temperature in coming days. The residents here are annoyed after many spells of snowfall and rain and are praying for sunny days. However, hoteliers consider it beneficial for their business. Meanwhile, fruit growers are worried because snowfall on flowers can destroy fruit crops. The stone fruits including plum orchards in many areas are in bloom. Deposit of snow on flowers and sudden drop in temperature can destroy the crops. Snowfall in Manali is normal till March end but it totally depends on temperature and atmospheric pressure. The fresh western disturbance that created cyclonic conditions above Himachal brought snowfall in Manali on Monday.
The unexpected snowfall in Manali that started despite high temperature on Monday evening thrilled tourists here but fruit growers are worried a lot as snow may have destroyed plum, apricot and peach crops at some places. Manali recorded minimum temperature of 3.6 degrees C in last 4 hours. The maximum day temperature was recorded at
