By IANS,
Shimla : The Manali-Leh highway re-opened for vehicular traffic Monday after remaining closed for six months. The highway was closed Dec 10 due to heavy snowfall.
“The 475-km Manali-Leh highway was re-opened for traffic,” S.K. Doon of the General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF), a wing of the Border Roads Organisation, told IANS over phone from Manali.
He said the snow clearance operation was almost over and the highway was made motorable for light vehicles only.
“In the next few days, heavy vehicles would also be allowed to ply on the highway,” he added.
The snow clearing work on the highway that started March 2 took more than three months to complete, an official said.
The Manali-Leh highway, connecting Himachal Pradesh with Jammu and Kashmir, winds its way through the Rohtang Pass (13,050 ft), Baralacha Pass (16,020 ft), Lachungla Pass (16,620 ft) and Tanglangla (17,480 ft).
It plays an important role in the movement of the armed forces to forward areas in Ladakh.