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 highway&nbsp;which 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.

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/heavy-rains-triggers-flash-floods-landslides-in-himachal-pradesh-608866">Heavy rains trigger flash floods, landslides in Himachal Pradesh</a>

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.”

<h2 lang="en-US">Vacation turned into a nightmare</h2>

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.&nbsp;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.

WATCH |&nbsp;IMD issues flash flood warning in Himachal Pradesh and Orange alert in Delhi

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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.&nbsp;

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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 highway which connects Mandi and Kullu in the state.

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 highway which 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. ALSO READ | Heavy rains trigger flash floods, landslides in Himachal Pradesh 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.” 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. WATCH | IMD issues flash flood warning in Himachal Pradesh and Orange alert in Delhi 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. You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. WATCH WION LIVE HERE

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

An Indian teenager was among 20 foreigners who were killed after being taken hostage by a group of attackers at an upmarket cafe in Bangladesh capital Dhaka, a government minister said Saturday. 
 
Tarushi Jain, 19, was caught up in the horrific 11-hour siege at the Holey Artisan Bakery, a Western-style cafe popular with foreigners located in the diplomatic quarter of the capital. 
 
&quot;I am extremely pained to share that the terrorists have killed Tarushi, an Indian girl who was taken hostage in the terror attack in Dhaka,&quot; India&#39;s Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj posted on Twitter. 
 
Swaraj said she had spoken to the girl&#39;s grief-stricken father and conveyed her condolences to him. 
 
&quot;The country is with them in this hour of grief,&quot; she tweeted. 
 
Jain had finished her schooling from the American School in Dhaka and was pursuing her studies at the University of California, Berkeley, Swaraj added. 
 
WION sources say she was on vacation in Dhaka, where her father has run a garment business for the last 15-20 years. India is assisting family members travelling to Bangladesh. 
 
Sources also revealed that an Indian man, Dr Satyapal, was among the hostages rescued Saturday morning. Being fluent in Bengali, he was able to pass off as Bangladeshi and was safely released Saturday morning.&nbsp; 
 
The Bangladesh army said most of the slain civilians were either Italian or Japanese, and that many had been hacked to death with sharpened weapons. 
 
WION sources said that of the 20 victims, seven to 10 were Italian, and an unconfirmed number include Japanese and South Koreans. Of the people rescued Saturday morning, seven are Bangladeshi and one is an Indian, Dr Satyapal. 
 
In the hospital undergoing treatment are two Sri Lankans, a Japanese and an Italian.&nbsp;Of the terrorists, six have been killed and one was apprehended alive.&nbsp; 
 
About 10-12 Bangladeshi restaurant staff were rescued in the morning, and have been segregated by police for interrogation. 
 
?The Italian embassy is not releasing the identity of the Italian victims at least until their families reach Dhaka. 
 
But another Italian named&nbsp;Jacopo Bioni, a 34-year-old from Verona, managed to escape with an Argentinian chef named Diego Rossini. Rossini moved to Dhaka only in January, and was only working in the restaurant Friday because another Argentinian chef was on leave. 
 
Rossini told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that in the rush to flee he left his mobile phone and wallet in the restaurant, and went on to describe his harrowing escape: 
 
&quot;I was working in the kitchen when a group of Italian friends came. They are wholesalers in clothes, fabrics and garments. And they are usual customers of the restaurant.&nbsp;I went to speak with the Italian fellas sitting there. They asked for a special pasta, so I had to go to the kitchen. Then I heard people shouting and some shooting, and while I tried to get out of the kitchen I saw a young man with an automatic weapon who was walking towards the table where my Italian friends were sitting. So I ran away together with Diego and other colleagues to the opposte direction to the backdoor of the kitchen where there is an emergency stairs that goes to the roof on the second floor. Then they started shooting in our direction and they launched grenades. That was the moment when we decided to jump down from the second floor.&quot; 
 
They reached a nearby building to safety. 
 
India&#39;s Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the attack in a post on Twitter. 
 
&quot;The attack in Dhaka has pained us beyond words. I spoke to (Bangladesh) PM Sheikh Hasina and strongly condemned the despicable attack,&quot; the Prime Minister tweeted.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP and WION)

Amid all the tragedy, an Argentinian chef describes his escape from IS attackers

An Indian teenager was among 20 foreigners who were killed after being taken hostage by a group of attackers at an upmarket cafe in Bangladesh capital Dhaka, a government minister said Saturday. Tarushi Jain, 19, was caught up in the horrific 11-hour siege at the Holey Artisan Bakery, a Western-style cafe popular with foreigners located in the diplomatic quarter of the capital. "I am extremely pained to share that the terrorists have killed Tarushi, an Indian girl who was taken hostage in the terror attack in Dhaka," India's Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj posted on Twitter. Swaraj said she had spoken to the girl's grief-stricken father and conveyed her condolences to him. "The country is with them in this hour of grief," she tweeted. Jain had finished her schooling from the American School in Dhaka and was pursuing her studies at the University of California, Berkeley, Swaraj added. WION sources say she was on vacation in Dhaka, where her father has run a garment business for the last 15-20 years. India is assisting family members travelling to Bangladesh. Sources also revealed that an Indian man, Dr Satyapal, was among the hostages rescued Saturday morning. Being fluent in Bengali, he was able to pass off as Bangladeshi and was safely released Saturday morning. The Bangladesh army said most of the slain civilians were either Italian or Japanese, and that many had been hacked to death with sharpened weapons. WION sources said that of the 20 victims, seven to 10 were Italian, and an unconfirmed number include Japanese and South Koreans. Of the people rescued Saturday morning, seven are Bangladeshi and one is an Indian, Dr Satyapal. In the hospital undergoing treatment are two Sri Lankans, a Japanese and an Italian. Of the terrorists, six have been killed and one was apprehended alive. About 10-12 Bangladeshi restaurant staff were rescued in the morning, and have been segregated by police for interrogation. ?The Italian embassy is not releasing the identity of the Italian victims at least until their families reach Dhaka. But another Italian named Jacopo Bioni, a 34-year-old from Verona, managed to escape with an Argentinian chef named Diego Rossini. Rossini moved to Dhaka only in January, and was only working in the restaurant Friday because another Argentinian chef was on leave. Rossini told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that in the rush to flee he left his mobile phone and wallet in the restaurant, and went on to describe his harrowing escape: "I was working in the kitchen when a group of Italian friends came. They are wholesalers in clothes, fabrics and garments. And they are usual customers of the restaurant. I went to speak with the Italian fellas sitting there. They asked for a special pasta, so I had to go to the kitchen. Then I heard people shouting and some shooting, and while I tried to get out of the kitchen I saw a young man with an automatic weapon who was walking towards the table where my Italian friends were sitting. So I ran away together with Diego and other colleagues to the opposte direction to the backdoor of the kitchen where there is an emergency stairs that goes to the roof on the second floor. Then they started shooting in our direction and they launched grenades. That was the moment when we decided to jump down from the second floor." They reached a nearby building to safety. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the attack in a post on Twitter. "The attack in Dhaka has pained us beyond words. I spoke to (Bangladesh) PM Sheikh Hasina and strongly condemned the despicable attack," the Prime Minister tweeted. (AFP and WION)

Indian teenager among 20 victims in Dhaka cafe siege

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