Over 300 tourists stranded without meal following unexpected snowfall at the south portal of Atal tunnel were rescued in an operation that continued till 1 am on Saturday. All were rescued to safety after struggles of over 6 six hours amid snowfall. While some vehicles were freed from snow in the night time, other vehicles were evacuated on Sunday. The Atal tunnel has been closed for tourist movement due to inclement weather conditions and heavy snowfall in the area. Tourist movement is now being restricted to Palchan village only. As many as 250 tourist vehicles had reached the Atal tunnel on Saturday early morning. All vehicles were sent back by Lahaul-Spiti police as it was snowing heavily in the valley. Tourists then stopped at the south portal of the tunnel and Dhundi to enjoy snowfall. As snowfall intensified, Kullu police stopped tourist movement towards the tunnel. While some tourists returned back to Manali, others stayed there for a longer time. With the increasing depth of snow on the road surface, the vehicles started slipping. A large number of vehicles collided with each other. Drivers were finding it difficult to keep cars on road which were slipping outwards towards the edge. This resulted in a road blockade. This took a long time for tourists to understand how to deal with the situation but it was too late till then as over 15cm of snow had accumulated on the road. After receiving information about tourists getting stranded at the tunnel, a police team from Kullu with help of police units at Atal tunnel launched the rescue operation. Border Roads Organisation (BRO) started clearing snow from the road and police took help from 4X4 vehicle operators of Manali. Tourist vehicles were freed and brought down one by one. More than 300 tourists in
Over 300 tourists stranded without meal following unexpected snowfall at the south portal of Atal tunnel were rescued in an operation that continued till 1 am on Saturday. All were rescued to safety after struggles of over 6 six hours amid snowfall. While some vehicles were freed from snow in the night time, other vehicles
Anticipating all-time high tourist rush in Manali during New Year celebrations, Kullu police have imposed many strict traffic rules in the district, especially on Manali-Atal tunnel highway as over 8,000 vehicles are expected to enter the tunnel. Record 5,450 vehicles had entered Atal tunnel from both ends on Sunday. Now police said number of vehicles entering the 9.02km long tunnel, which has become the major tourist spot of Himachal, can go beyond 8,000 in next few days. Police have made no-overtaking zones, tow-away zones and marked special parking places. A heavy fine is being slapped on traffic rule violators. Kullu superintendent of police Gaurav Singh said 130 cops have been deployed between Manali and Atal tunnel to check traffic and Covid-19 violations besides ensuring tourist safety. He said 40 such cops have been deployed in Manikaran and units having 15 cops each have been deployed at Tirthan, Jibhi and Jalori pass. “Manali is a small town with limited carrying capacity. We shall allow tourist vehicles as per available carrying capacity. The vehicles shall be staggered before reaching Manal and will be allowed in batches of 500 and 1,000. Tourists will observe slow-moving traffic during this time. Once the first batch reaches Palchan, Solang valley and beyond, another batch will be allowed. Road between Palchan to tunnel will be no overtaking zone. The vehicles will again be allowed batch-wise through the tunnel,” the SP said. He added that tourists generally stop anywhere after watching snow or scenic place but vehicles cannot be parked anywhere. “If there is space by roadside, vehicles can be parked. Otherwise, such vehicles will be towed. Once the vehicle leaves Solang for Atal tunnel, it cannot take u-turn from midway and vehicle needs to go till south portal of the tunnel. At portal of the tunnel, tourists
Anticipating all-time high tourist rush in Manali during New Year celebrations, Kullu police have imposed many strict traffic rules in the district, especially on Manali-Atal tunnel highway as over 8,000 vehicles are expected to enter the tunnel. Record 5,450 vehicles had entered Atal tunnel from both ends on Sunday. Now police said number of vehicles
Eight tourists from Delhi dancing inside Atal tunnel after stopping their car have been arrested by Kullu police on Thursday evening. Tourists have continued to flout traffic rules in the tunnel having strategic significance. The 9.02km long tunnel has become the main tourist attraction since its inauguration on October 3 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The tourist rush has increased ahead of Christmas and New Year. So has increased the number of miscreants. Kullu superintendent of police Gaurav Singh told the media, “Tourists have been booked under relevant sections of the law and have been arrested. The vehicle of the tourist that they had stopped in tunnel has also been impounded. Some other tourists, who were present on the spot after stopping their vehicles, are also being questioned. They will also face legal action.” While the vehicle was wearing a registration number from Delhi, names and addresses of the accused were not disclosed by the police as the matter was under investigation. Police said addresses and names are being verified. However, the SP said more tourists are likely to be arrested. Police were taking the matter seriously as it belonged to national security for the tunnel being a major link between Manali and Ladakh. Himachal government has imposed a strict ban on stopping vehicles and stepping out of the vehicles inside the tunnel for security reasons. Some tourists had reportedly created traffic chaos inside the tunnel on Thursday. They started dancing to the loud music. Many other tourists gathered there and some also joined them. The traffic inside the tunnel is being managed by Kullu police while traffic in its north portal is managed by Lahaul-Spiti police. Cops were collecting more evidence through videos made by local drivers and security cameras installed inside the tunnel. Similar incidents had come to
Eight tourists from Delhi dancing inside Atal tunnel after stopping their car have been arrested by Kullu police on Thursday evening. Tourists have continued to flout traffic rules in the tunnel having strategic significance. The 9.02km long tunnel has become the main tourist attraction since its inauguration on October 3 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
People from across the country will get access to the snow-bound tribal Lahaul valley in the winter season for the first time as the government has decided to keep the valley open for tourists even after snowfall. Tribal development minister Ram Lal Markanda, after holding a meeting with the officials of Lahaul, said there will be no restriction on tourist inflow to Lahaul valley in clear weather. He said outsiders, for the first time, will get to experience the winters of this tribal belt which used to be cut off from the rest parts of the world after the snowfall. He said the road to the valley via Atal tunnel will be kept clear of snow. He said tourism infrastructure in the valley will be developed on a war footing so that tourists get all basic facilities. “Tourist footfall in the valley has increased suddenly after the opening of the Atal tunnel. There will be no restriction on the movement of tourists if the weather is clear. We shall organise skiing, a winter carnival, and other winter events to attract more tourists this season. Meanwhile, we need to develop our infrastructure to meet the demand of the growing tourism,” Markanda said. He said a Yatri Niwas at Sissu, adequate parking at Keylong, a large bus stand, parking, and cafeteria at Trilokinath will be built very soon. He said parking spaces, dustbins, waste management facilities, viewpoints, parks, tourism activities, exploration of new destinations, and organising cultural events for tourists are proposed. Lahaul-Spiti, popularly known as the cold deserts of Himachal, gets very heavy snowfall from November to March. The area is coldest in the state with minimum temperature at some places plunges below minus 25. Visiting Lahaul valley in the winter season was impossible until recently when the Atal tunnel connected
People from across the country will get access to the snow-bound tribal Lahaul valley in the winter season for the first time as the government has decided to keep the valley open for tourists even after snowfall. Tribal development minister Ram Lal Markanda, after holding a meeting with the officials of Lahaul, said there will
A day after tourist resorts of Shimla and Manali received season’s first snow, tourists from neighbouring states have made a beeline for Himachal to enjoy the snow. Tourists thronged Solang, Kufri and other tourist places which received a good amount of snow on Monday. After three days of inclement weather, it was sunny day on Tuesday. Tourist places were witnessing crowd from the early morning till late evening. Most of the tourists are from Delhi, UP, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. A tourist from Delhi Jatin Ahuja said, “We headed to Manali after hearing about snowfall on Monday morning. I and my wife wanted to see snowfall but we were a little late. However, we enjoyed in snow near Manali. Covid-19 being the main hurdle, we preferred driving our own car. The weather on Tuesday was amazing and we spent almost half day at Solang. We wanted to visit Atal tunnel but the road was blocked,” he said. Tourists were not being allowed to go to the higher regions as most of the roads have become slippery. Many tourists attempted to go towards Atal tunnel but could not reach due to icing of the road surface. Buses plying on Manali-Keylong route had to return back from south portal of the tunnel where road was extremely slippery. The highway even saw traffic jam for some time. Shimla also saw good number of tourists coming from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh on Tuesday. Tourists headed to the upper Shimla to see snow. Dalhousie and Dharamshala are also expecting little rise in footfall in the next few days. Suffering huge losses since March due to Covid-19, hoteliers are expecting little surge in tourist inflow following the snowfall. “This year has been a black year for all businesses but tourism industry is worse affected. Tourists are
A day after tourist resorts of Shimla and Manali received season’s first snow, tourists from neighbouring states have made a beeline for Himachal to enjoy the snow. Tourists thronged Solang, Kufri and other tourist places which received a good amount of snow on Monday. After three days of inclement weather, it was sunny day on
Synopsis: With inauguration of Atal Tunnel, Rohtang, just around the corner, this is a historical moment for the nation. But this is much more than just an inauguration of a project for residents of Lahaul, Pangi and Killar. This is the “tunnel of hope” that will bring fortune to the valley and set them free from centuries of imprisonment. A “Thank-You” programme held at Manali under the banner of Lahaul-Spiti Eco Tourism Society and Layul Utsav Committee where the officials of Border Roads Organization (BRO) and Afcons, the engineers, security personnel, designers and many others were given the honour by presenting them Lahauli cap, muffler, Buddhist khata, socks and plants. The tribals of Lahaul valley are celebrating the completion of the Atal tunnel, Rohtang, which will give them freedom from six months of imprisonment in winter months. The happy residents are organising a series of functions to honour all those who are involved in the making of this tunnel. The tunnel is ready and is expected to be open to general traffic by end of this month. With this, the residents will enter an all-new era where they can travel outside their valley even during winter months. As this dream of bypassing deadly Rohtang pass has been fulfilled after over 50 years, the residents under banner of Lahaul-Spiti Eco Tourism Society and Layul Utsav Committee expressed their gratitude towards key persons who helped in approval of this project and the engineers and officials who build the tunnel by honouring them in traditional style on Sunday. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) officials, the engineers, security personnel, designers and many others were given the honour by presenting them Lahauli cap, muffler, Buddhist khata, socks and plants. Some media persons and panchayat representatives close to the tunnel portals in Lahaul and Manali were
Synopsis: With inauguration of Atal Tunnel, Rohtang, just around the corner, this is a historical moment for the nation. But this is much more than just an inauguration of a project for residents of Lahaul, Pangi and Killar. This is the “tunnel of hope” that will bring fortune to the valley and set them free
As Atal tunnel, Rohtang, the longest tunnel in the world above altitude of 3,000m, is expected to be a major tourist attraction of Himachal, the chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said this tunnel will start a concept of "tunnel tourism" for the first time in the country. The infrastructure is being developed at both portals of the tunnel where tourism activities will be available for the tourists. The government is further planning to start different tourism activities here to attract more tourists. Government has also planned to run glass top vistadome buses on this route especially for the tourists. “Atal tunnel will open door to tunnel tourism which will be a new concept of tourism in the country. Both the portals of the tunnel will be developed on tourism point of view. People will come to see this engineering marvel at this altitude. Also, the approach road to the tunnel is full of scenery that offers view of snow-capped mountains, glaciers, towering peaks and glacial-fed rivers. The tunnel will also open doors to flourishing tourism in the Lahaul valley,” the CM said. He said that originally the tunnel was designed 8.8km in length but the resh GPS readings after completion of the work showed that it was 9.02km-long. “This tunnel will be credited as world’s longest motorable tunnel at altitude of 3,000m. This tunnel is also a result of friendship of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Tashi Dawa, a resident of Tholang village of Lahaul. As both wanted to find an alternate to lengthy and dangerous travel across Rohtang pass, the idea of the tunnel was conceived long back. Finally, work on approach road begun in 2002 and work on tunnel began in 2010,” he added. Expedite work to give final touch to Atal tunnel for inauguration by
As Atal tunnel, Rohtang, the longest tunnel in the world above altitude of 3,000m, is expected to be a major tourist attraction of Himachal, the chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said this tunnel will start a concept of “tunnel tourism” for the first time in the country. The infrastructure is being developed at both portals
