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Traffic restored on Manali-Leh highway
Snowfall in the higher reaches, including Baralacha La, Tanglang La and Lachung La had blocked all kinds of traffic movement on the Manali-Leh highway
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) restored the traffic movement on strategic Manali-Leh highway, which was blocked since October 17 due to heavy snowfall.
Snowfall in the higher reaches, including Baralacha La, Tanglang La and Lachung La had blocked all kinds of traffic movement.
BRO commander Col Umashankar said they had pressed men and machinery into the restoration work and the highway was opened on Thursday.
“Initially, the road has been opened for four-wheel drive and army vehicles and if the sky remains clear, the normal traffic would resume on Friday,” he said.
He said BRO had reached Baralacha La on October 24, but the road was again closed due to fresh spell of snow.
There was 3-4ft snow on the Baralachal La, he said, and added that BRO personnel worked day and night amid minus temperature to clear the road.
The commander said that BRO will now turn its focus to restore Kunzum pass and Shinkula pass.
He, however, urged the people to travel on these routes only after checking the daily weather forecast.
Bodies of 3 Maha trekkers recovered from Barua Pass
Meanwhile, the rescuers from ITBP have recovered the bodies of three Maharashtra trekkers who were killed after being stuck in a snowstorm at Barua Pass, which connects Rohru of Shimla with Kinnaur, on October 24.
The bodies were extricated from the snow and being brought to Kinnaur by the troopers of 17 battalion of ITBP.
“The search operation had begun on October 24. Three bodies were recovered this morning and are being brought down,” said ITBP spokesperson Vivek Pandey.
The deceased have been identified as Deepak Rao, Ashon Bale, and Rajendra Pathak. They were part of a 13-member group which had embarked on a trek from Rohru to Kinnaur on October 17.
They were caught in a snowstorm at Barua Pass. While the three died, 10 others were rescued on October 25.
