Rohtang Pass re-opens for traffic

Shimla, May 3 (IANS) Rohtang Pass located at an altitude of 13,050 feet in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district has re-opened for vehicular traffic, officials said Sunday. The pass had been closed since mid-December due to heavy winter snowfall.

'The crucial road link to the tribal Lahaul Valley through the Rohtang Pass was re-opened last (Saturday) evening,' S.K. Doon, commander of the General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF) 38 Task Force, told IANS by phone.

'At present, only small and emergency vehicles are allowed to cross the pass. After May 7, all types of vehicles can ply through the pass,' he said.

Regarding the opening of 475-km Manali-Leh National Highway 21, Doon said the work of clearing snow was going on at a fast pace at different locations.

'The work is now on at different locations to open the entire highway by this month,' he said.

'Our first priority was to make the 60-km stretch between Manali and Rohtang Pass motorable so that link to the Lahaul Valley would open before the general elections,' the official added.

The hill state will go to the polls May 13.