India: Himachal's Mandi-Kullu highway opens after stranding tourists for 20 hours

Around 200 tourists, who had thronged to the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh for their summer vacations, lived a nightmare when they were stranded in at least a 15 km-long traffic jam with no availability of hotel rooms for 20 hours because of the blockade on the national highwaywhich connects Mandi and Kullu in the state.

Since last evening, the highway was blocked because of landslides and flash floods which were triggered by heavy rainfall in the hilly state. According to news agency PTI, officials said that explosives were used to blast heavy boulders which had blocked the road.

However, after 20 hours, the tourists got some respite as the Mandi-Kullu highway was finally opened for traffic movement. However, in those 20 hours, the commuters had a harrowing time.

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Speaking about the development, Mandi SHO Sakini Kapoor said, “Single-lane road of the highway has been opened for traffic movement. I appeal to people to cooperate. The road is clear till Manali.”

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Vacation turned into a nightmare

Speaking to NDTV, tourists Sohail Yousuf and Azaz Hasan, who were stranded due to the road blockade, said that they were headed to Bhuntar airport when they got stuck.

"Multiple landslides took place between Mandi and Sundarnagar. At 10 pm, the police stopped us and asked us to go back. The traffic jam here is at least 15 km long," said Hasan, while speaking to NDTV.

"No tourist here was prepared for this. There are families, kids. Some have booked whole buses. Some are waiting at dhabas, no one could find a hotel room. They are worried for their children," he stated.

Hasan emphasised that tourist resorts and power projects are present in these areas.However, no alternative roads are available which connect them. "A highway is shut from 5 pm yesterday, but the road hasn't been cleared even now," he stated.

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He further stated that a system should be in place for informing people before they reach the blockade. "We left at noon yesterday and reached here around 10 pm. So we drove for about 5 hours after the landslide and we had no clue that it had led to this road blockade. And we are stopped here. By then, there is already a 6-km traffic jam," he stated.

Another tourist Adesh Katyayan, who was caught in the rough weather of Himachal when he was headed to Kullu, said, "We had to head back to Mandi, we spent the night there. Now we are again on the way to Kullu.” He added that he saw at least 500 cars stranded while heading back to Mandi and said many people spent the night on the road.

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