Manali: In one of the toughest operations to dig through mounds of snow to make way for nearly 300 tourists, comprising three foreigners, who got stuck on the icy road in Himachal Pradesh’s Spiti Valley at altitudes ranging above 15,060 ft, snow warriors on July 12 began work to reopen the mountain pass. Seven tourists, most of them elderly and facing health issues, were evacuated by a chopper on July 11 from the glacial-fed Chandertal lake. More chopper flights could not operate owing to unfavourable weather and poor visibility.
The stranded people comprising tourists, largely from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat and three women foreigners — two from Ireland and one from the US, have been stuck at the Chandertal for the past four days as rain-battered hills snapped road links. Heavy snowfall in the region this week has also made the operation to reopen the road network more challenging, according to a Government official.
The snow-clearing operation towards the Kunzum Pass began July 12 early morning on the third day and a 12-km stretch has been made motorable, said Assistant Public Relations Officer Ajay Banyal, who is posted in Kaza, the headquarters of Spiti.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Rahul Jain, who is monitoring the rescue operation, said “after this week’s snowstorm dumped more than four feet of snow in the Chandertal area. A rescue team of six people carrying a satellite phone was sent on foot to the place where the tourists were stationed. They reached there on July 11 at around 2.30 pm but could not evacuate them as trekking on the snow-laden paths is risky and challenging for tourists. So they have decided to rescue them by road only, adding that the Kaza-Samudo road is yet to be restored.”