Manali-Rohtang road closed due to heavy snowfall

Shimla, Dec 18 (IANS) Heavy snowfall in Himachal Pradesh has led to closure of roads from tourist spot Manali to the Rohtang Pass, the gateway to Lahaul and Spiti district, officials said Thursday.

'The traffic on the Manali-Rohtang road has been closed due to heavy snowfall,' S.K. Doon, commander of the 38 Task Force of the General Engineering Reserve Force (GREF), told IANS.

The 13,050 ft high Rohtang Pass is popular among tourists. Throughout the year, the pass is capped with a white sheet of snow.

This year, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports has set up two rescue posts on the 474 km-long Manali-Leh highway. While one rescue post is at Marhi in Kullu district, the other is at Koksar in Lahaul and Spiti district.

Kullu-Manali has emerged as a favourite tourist destination in the hill state. Last year, around 100,000 foreign tourists visited that area, as per records of the state tourism department.