Snow clearance work begins on Manali Leh highway

Manali, Mar 8 (ANI): Snow cleaning work on the Manali-Leh highway began on Sunday. The highway has been closed since December due to heavy snowfall.

The Border Roads Organization (BRO) has started snow clearance work on some of the above 15,000 feet high passes along the 474 kilometres long highway.

The Leh-Manali Highway is a strategic road in the Himalayas connecting northernmost Leh in Jammu and Kashmir and Manali in Himachal Pradesh. It is open only in the summers between May and mid-October.

The BRO is hopeful to open the road by April 15.

"Basically nothing can be said so surely because it all depends on weather conditions. But still we have planned that by April 15, we should be able to clear Baralacha pass if everything remains okay. If there are further snowfalls and problems with weather then this date will be revised later on," said S.K. Doon, commander 38th Border Roads Task Force.

The road connects Manali with snowbound Lahaul and Spiti besides Ladakh. The importance of the road is further accentuated as it is used by the Indian army to ferry stores and food supplies. (ANI)