Snow-covered Rohtang Pass closed for traffic

The majestic Rohtang Pass, the crucial high altitude road link between Manali town and Keylong in Himachal Pradesh, has been closed for traffic due to heavy snowfall on it, a government official said Sunday. The pass normally opens to traffic in May.

The majestic Rohtang Pass, the crucial high altitude road link between Manali town and Keylong in Himachal Pradesh, has been closed for traffic due to heavy snowfall on it, a government official said Sunday. The pass normally opens to traffic in May.

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"In the past two days, the Rohtang Pass experienced more than five feet snowfall. The rescue posts set up on both sides of the pass have been removed and it has been closed for motorists till the onset of summer," the government spokesperson told IANS.

The GREF (General Reserve Engineering Force), a wing of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) that maintains the pass, has withdrawn its men and machinery.

The Rohtang Pass (13,050 ft) is also strategically important to maintain supplies for the armed forces posted in the forward areas of Jammu and Kashmir's Ladakh region along the borders with China and Pakistan.