Landslides block Manali-Leh highway, tourists stranded in Manali

MANALI: Many landslides triggered by heavy downpour blocked the Manali-Leh highway on Friday night and hundreds of tourists remained stranded in Manali until the highway was reopened on Saturday evening at about 6pm.
The area between Marhi and Rani Nallah had witnessed many landslides on Friday night and Saturday morning. Incessant rainfall had wreaked havoc along Manali-Leh highway which had been blocked repeatedly since Tuesday night.A large number of Ladakh and Lahaul-Spiti bound tourists were forced to either postpone their travel plan or wait for a complete day in Manali. All tourists took a sigh of relief after the debris was cleared by the evening.
Though Saturday remained sunny, the overnight downpour damaged the roads. 38 Border Road Task Force commander Arvind Awasthi said the heavy downpour had caused landslides below Rohtang Pass. "We had moved machinery to the spots. We have stationed our machinery at landslide prone areas to deal with such situations."