Tribune News Service,Mandi, December 17

The Rohtang Pass was today closed for traffic after snowfall in the region. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) had opened the Manali-Keylong road yesterday only after snowfall on December 10.Col KP Rajendra Kumar, Commander, 38 Border Road Task Force (BRTF), Manali, said they would try to restore the Manali-Keylong road tomorrow. Not much snow was accumulated on the road, he said. No vehicle plied on the road today.He said they had encountered nearly 10 feet of snow on the Rohtang Pass a few day ago. More than two dozen jawans worked day and night in minus 10 degree temperature to clear the snow, he said, adding it took them four days to open the road.The BRO maintains the strategically important nearly 490-km-long Manali-Leh highway to maintain supplies for the armed forces posted in the forward areas of Jammu and Kashmir’s Ladakh region along the borders with China and Pakistan.With closure of the Pass, the tribal district of Lahaul-Spiti remains cut-off from the rest of the world for the next six months.The road was officially closed on November 15, but the BRO was trying its best to keep the road open for as long as possible in the winter season.