As the general elections have ended, tourists who gave a miss to hill stations in May have started to make a beeline to Manali to get respite from the scorching heat of the plains. The elections have badly hit the summer tourism of Himachal as hoteliers claim they have never seen such a poor business in May month. With elections ended and hills of Manali still experiencing fresh snowfall, hoteliers believe they see a good tourist crowd till the end of June. The tourist footfall is increasing gradually but most of the tourists are ending up stuck in traffic jams for hours. The charm of snow along Manali-Rohtang road is attracting tourists to Manali. A number of tourist vehicles entering Manali is increasing every day. But the long traffic jams at multiple places between Bhuntar and Marhi are ruining their holiday mood. While a one-way bridge at Dobhi has become the worst bottleneck, NHAI has failed to stop sliding of a small stretch at 16 Mile where sometimes vehicles are forced to wait for 1 to 2 hours for their turn. The traffic is moving at snail’s pace on Bhuntar-Ramshila stretch of the highway where road construction is continuing. It has become a routine to face traffic jams from Manali to Marhi, the snow point of Manali. The hoteliers say May and June are the months when lakhs of tourists throng Manali and most hotels remain occupied. They rue that not just elections but it is poor infrastructure that is irking the tourists and putting a negative impact on the tourism industry. Manali Hoteliers’ Association president Anup Ram Thakur said the condition of the road from Kiratpur (Punjab) to Manali is not good which is affecting the tourism. “Unscientific construction of four-lane highway without conducting proper study of the area
As the general elections have ended, tourists who gave a miss to hill stations in May have started to make a beeline to Manali to get respite from the scorching heat of the plains. The elections have badly hit the summer tourism of Himachal as hoteliers claim they have never seen such a poor business
After remaining blocked for over five months, Manali-Rohtang Pass-Keylong highway has finally opened for vehicular movement as Border Roads Organization (BRO) on Sunday morning cleared snow from north face of Rohtang at 4am. Working under pressure to connect Lahaul valley by road before election on May 19, BRO jawans had to work over 12 hours a day under extreme weather conditions. This season the entire area has received extremely heavy snow, more than last many years. Earlier it was assumed that road will not open before May 25 as BRO on Friday had to cut through 20 to 30ft high mountains of snow in 5km stretch. Last year traffic on Manali-Keylong highway was resumed on April 5 while it opened on April 28 in 2017. A BRO official said Rohtang pass and nearby areas are still getting snow, which largely affected their work this season. “The Manali-Keylong road was opened at 4am today. We worked all night to achieve this deadline as people of Lahaul wanted to go to cast poll. We had to search the road under 10 to 50ft deep snow. A large number of avalanches have hit the highway. Our primary goal was to connect Lahaul valley and provide relief to the residents. Now we shall focus on clearing snow from Keylong-Sarchu stretch. Our machines and jawans are advancing towards 16,050ft high Baralacha pass as well,” he said. “BRO officials had informed on Saturday morning that their two teams advancing towards 13,050ft high Rohtang from Manali and Lahaul sides will meet between Rohtang and Koksar tonight at any cost. Today morning at 4am they connected Manali with Lahaul. Some vehicles went to Lahaul via Rohtang pass on Sunday,” Manali sub-divisional magistrate Ashwani Kumar said. Ashwani added that road will not be opened for general traffic movement for
After remaining blocked for over five months, Manali-Rohtang Pass-Keylong highway has finally opened for vehicular movement as Border Roads Organization (BRO) on Sunday morning cleared snow from north face of Rohtang at 4am. Working under pressure to connect Lahaul valley by road before election on May 19, BRO jawans had to work over 12 hours
Away from the heat of Lok Sabha elections, hundreds of tourists on Wednesday enjoyed unexpected summer snowfall at Gulaba, 23km from Manali. While mercury in many parts of the country has jumped above 40 degrees Celsius, the peaks of Himachal are still getting fresh snow. The temperature in many parts of Kullu, Chamba, Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts of Himachal has plunged close to freezing point. The snowfall in mid-April has thrilled the hundreds of tourists at Gulaba near Manali. Gulaba, on the foothills of Rohtang pass, was opened for tourists on Tuesday after a gap of four months. Gulaba received 5cm fresh snow while Rohtang pass is expected to have received nearly 15cm snow. Parts of Lahaul valley also received some snowflakes. Border Roads Organization (BRO) had cleared snow till Marhi, 17km short of Rohtang pass. The fresh snowfall has affected the snow clearance operations. BRO wants to resume traffic on Manali-Rohtang-Keylong highway before election on May 19. Snowfall on high hills and rains in lower parts have triggered cold in upper Himachal. In Manali, residents have brought out sweaters and jackets from the closets. Tourists staying in hotels were demanding for room heaters. Manali sub-divisional magistrate Ashwani Kumar said tourists are allowed to go till Gulab where they can enjoy snow. "There is no limit on number of vehicles and no permit is required to go till Gulaab. Once vehicles are allowed to go beyond Gulaba, only 1,300 tourist vehicles would be given the permit on daily basis. Gulaba has enough snow for tourists," he said. While snowfall has brought cheer among tourists and hoteliers, it has worried the fruit growers. "Our apple orchards are under full blossom. A sudden drop in temperature is lethal for the crop. We pray almighty that snowfall on hills and drop in temperature
Away from the heat of Lok Sabha elections, hundreds of tourists on Wednesday enjoyed unexpected summer snowfall at Gulaba, 23km from Manali. While mercury in many parts of the country has jumped above 40 degrees Celsius, the peaks of Himachal are still getting fresh snow. The temperature in many parts of Kullu, Chamba, Lahaul-Spiti and
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,
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
Unacquainted with conventional games in their childhood and devoting the time in romancing with snow, many generations of countryside villages of Manali have left no stone unturned to turn their land into mini Europe where people worship skiing as their deities. The villages have now become the wellspring of professional skiers for India, with over 70 children and youth having participated in international skiing events only in last few years! The journey from homemade wooden skis to the Winter Olympics has been remarkable. Neglected by government but supported by natural skiing slopes, children, who never played hide and seek, gilli danda or cricket, spend a large amount of their capital in buying expensive skis and obtaining technical training. Children who cannot afford expensive pair of skis have enough knowledge that how to make temporary ski with help of timber fitted with pieces of steel blade on its base to reduce friction. Blades are generally stolen from saw mill. Burua, Shanag, Palchan, Solang, Ruar, Kulang, Goshal and Kothi villages in upper Manali have long list of success stories in winter games which has not only brought laurels to the country but is also a mean of healthy bread to hundreds of families. Lack of money forced youths to make wooden-skis at home in early days and now these youths are representing Indian team in all international events, including Winter Olympics. Though the Indian national ski team which is new to the professional winter sports and which mostly has skiers from Manali villages could not perform extraordinary in international events so far but the lone luger of the country Shiva Keshavan who hails from Vashisht, a small village near Manali, has set an Asian speed record and has grabbed three gold in Asian Luge Championships in Japan. His latest gold came in December 2016. As India does not has any luge track, he had
Unacquainted with conventional games in their childhood and devoting the time in romancing with snow, many generations of countryside villages of Manali have left no stone unturned to turn their land into mini Europe where people worship skiing as their deities. The villages have now become the wellspring of professional skiers for India, with over 70 children and youth
MANALI: After many cities of the country boycotted Make My Trip and Goibibo over the monopoly of online hotel booking giants, Manali hoteliers have offered them to work at their terms and conditions, failing to which may force hoteliers to consider boycotting them. Manali Hoteliers’ Association president Anup Ram Thakur said they have asked officials of Online Travel Aggregators (OTAs) to hold a meeting with them in Manali where they will discuss on the 11 agenda points for the benefit of both the parties and also the customers. “We want to fix a commission rate with them as many hotels complain that some online agencies are charging very high commission from them by taking advantage of their helplessness. The commission would be charged on room tariff, not on meal. The reviews written by guests should have option to include hotel’s version.” Hoteliers blamed that the companies are giving star ranking to the hotels themselves and were showing any tariff on the website which was misleading and illegal. “The category of the hotel and room’s tariff are finalized by department of tourism. Hotel or agency has no right to give star category to hotel only to mislead the tourists. Some online agencies give huge discounts and offers to customers. In such cases, the discounted amount would be borne by agency, not the hotel. And they need to display the original tariff approved by government,” Thakur added. Hoteliers have more such demands from the OTAs which they have demanded to be fulfilled to maintain a healthy relation. While many hoteliers say it the hotel owners who themselves were offering huge commission to the companies to get booking, others said it was the monopoly of the companies as most bookings were coming through them. Some hoteliers were demanding to boycott Make My Trip, Goibibo and
MANALI: After many cities of the country boycotted Make My Trip and Goibibo over the monopoly of online hotel booking giants, Manali hoteliers have offered them to work at their terms and conditions, failing to which may force hoteliers to consider boycotting them. Manali Hoteliers’ Association president Anup Ram Thakur said they have asked officials of Online
MANALI: Those who are bored of staying in conventional hotel rooms and want to experience some thrill and adventure can stay in a room entirely made of snow and ice. Available only in a few countries, the stay in an igloo is now available in Manali as well. This is the third consecutive year that tourists will be able to enjoy their stay in igloo in Manali. Two youth – Tashi and Vikas – who introduced igloo concept in the country for tourism purpose have again built the igloos near Sethan villae in Hamta valley next to Manali, at an altitude of about 9,000ft. Heavy snowfall in the area and dip in temperature offered positive environment to make igloos. A large number of snow lovers and adventure enthusiasts made beeline to get chance of staying in igloo in last two seasons. Not only tourists but also local residents are thronging Sethan forest to see the igloos. Abnormally high temperature in winters had posed some challenges before the youth as snow was melting very fast. As mercury is perfectly indicating freezing temperature, igloos are of great quality. Tashi Dorje, owner of Manali Igloo Stay, said the temperature is favourable for igloos which will not melt until end of February or mid March. “We expect to get more snow so that tourists get chance to stay in igloos till end of March. We had a great response from tourists in the very first year of introduction of igloos in the country. The booking is open and we are ready to welcome the adventure enthusiasts this year too.” The igloo is equipped with bedding, table, lightings and all other essentials required to make stay cozy and memorable. As nobody knew the technique of building igloo, Tashi and his friends took help from youtube videos. Tashi says he has not got expertise in the technique. “We make blocks of snow and join them to give shape to structure.
MANALI: Those who are bored of staying in conventional hotel rooms and want to experience some thrill and adventure can stay in a room entirely made of snow and ice. Available only in a few countries, the stay in an igloo is now available in Manali as well. This is the third consecutive year that tourists will be able
MANALI: Palak Sharma, a resident of Sihunta village of Chamba district in Himachal, has been crowned Winter Queen 2019 after beating 28 girls from many states. 28 beauties with brain were shortlisted for final rounds from many auditions where over 100 participants took part. Eying Femina Miss India and Miss World titles, Palak has participated in many beauty pageants and won different titles. She was crowned Winter Queen beauty pageant title in the midnight on Sunday. Most of the rounds of the contest were held amidst snowfall. Prashika Sharma from Kullu was announced first runner-up and Arya from Mandi was second runner-up. Amazingly, none of the contestants from other states could make it to top three positions. “My grandmother Jadeshwari is my role model. Mother Sonu Sharma and father Rajeev Sharma support me in whatever I do. I was worn in 1998 and currently I’m pursuing MBA from HP University, Shimla. My morale is high after winning this title and I want to make my career in modeling. Extreme cold weather was the main challenge in the contest,” she said. She added that whenever she get time, she motivate others to keep the country neat and clean. “I love my Himachal and trekking the mountains. I really want to do something to deal with the problem of littering in the country.” The girls had to undergo various rounds in five day long Winter Carnival at Manali. 11 girls were chosen for final round who had tough competition for the crown. Palak finally won the contest and was given the crown and cash prize of Rs one lakh.
MANALI: Palak Sharma, a resident of Sihunta village of Chamba district in Himachal, has been crowned Winter Queen 2019 after beating 28 girls from many states. 28 beauties with brain were shortlisted for final rounds from many auditions where over 100 participants took part. Eying Femina Miss India and Miss World titles, Palak has participated
MANALI: No snowfall in many parts of Himachal despite heavy snowfall warning may have disappointed many but upper Manali regions have witnessed heavy snowfall in 48 hours, with Solang ski slopes receiving 90cm of snow. Kothi and Manali town received 90cm and 15cm snow respectively. Rohtang is expected to have received over 5ft of snow. The snowfall was continuing while filing this report. Udaipur and Keylong in Lahaul valley have received 25cm and 13cm more snow. As the temperature is not freezing, the snow is wet. Snow turned slush and melted away at some places while lower regions which used to receive good snowfall received only rain. Solang slopes have enough snow where skiing courses will commence from this week. National skiing competitions that were postponed due to no snow on slopes will be organized soon. The dates are yet to be finalized. Power supply snapped Electricity cables were snapped by snow, pushing some villages into darkness in Manali. Employees of electricity board were engaged in restoration of the lines even in snowfall. Similar was the condition at villages at high altitude. Nearly 60cm snowfall on Jalori pass has blocked Kullu-Anni road. Tourists make beeline to Manali Thousands of tourists have made beeline to Manali to see snowfall. Given the safety of the tourists, police have restricted tourism movement to Bahang, 6km from Manali. Still, Manali-Bahang road was jammed with tourist vehicles. Many of them got stuck near Nehru Kund area due to slippery road. Vehicles were later pushed out of snow with help of local drivers. Still, a large number of vehicles are stuck in snow at many parts. In Mandi, administration has imposed ban on going to Shikari Mata temple and other high altitude regions on Seraj valley which are experiencing heavy snowfall till March 31. SDM at Seraj Surender Mohan said warning
MANALI: No snowfall in many parts of Himachal despite heavy snowfall warning may have disappointed many but upper Manali regions have witnessed heavy snowfall in 48 hours, with Solang ski slopes receiving 90cm of snow. Kothi and Manali town received 90cm and 15cm snow respectively. Rohtang is expected to have received over 5ft of snow. The snowfall was continuing
