Lagatar24 Desk
Kullu, Nov.22: The Rohtang Pass at 13,050 feet in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh, has been closed to visitors and day-trippers due to icy roads at such a high elevation.
Ashutosh Garg, the deputy commissioner of Kullu, stated that starting Monday, tourist cars heading to Rohtang will not be allowed beyond Kothi village, 13 kilometres outside of Manali, till the weather improves.
During this time, only army, police, and emergency vehicles are able to pass through the Atal Tunnel.
The administration has shut down the online permission gateway.
After the region received snowfall around Diwali on November 4, the visitor influx to Rohtang Pass intensified.
Water was freezing in numerous locations on the road leading to Rohtang Pass due to the dipping temperature and bad weather conditions, according to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), and the road should be closed to civilian vehicles.
Rohtang Pass, once the lone gateway to the tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti, is now strategically essential as a critical link to Ladakh’s forward districts.
The Atal Tunnel, which opened in October 2020, provides all-weather connectivity to Lahaul and Spiti while also reducing the distance to Leh by 46 kilometres and the driving duration by approximately seven hours.
The 9-km tunnel is also the world’s longest tunnel above 10,000-feet.
