BRO commander KP Rajendra said, “With the weather remaining clear, we have managed to clear the snow up to Beas Nullah. However, this snow-clearance operation starts in March and depends upon weather conditions.” “We have deployed three teams at Marhi, Koksar and Jispa to hasten the operation from both Manali and Lahaul side toward Rohtang Pass to connect the road till end of March between Manali and Keylong. We target to clear the snow up to Sarchu from Jispa till the last week of April next month,” he added.

Rajendra added that each team was equipped with two dozers, two snow cutters, JCB and other machinery having workforce of 40 people at each place for the welfare of people in tribal districts of Lahaul Spiti.

‘Task is challenging, but positives emerge’ For the BRO, connecting the road between Manali and Keylong will be tough as the area is prone to avalanches that derail all operations.

However, a positive is that there has been only 10-15 ft layer of snow in the region compared to last year’s 30 ft. Last year, due to inclement weather conditions the BRO started its snow clearance operation from March 19.

Snow clearing work on Leh road begins

The work to remove snow from the Manali-Keylong highway near the Beas Nulla under way on Tuesday. Photo Jai Kumar

Our Correspondent

Kullu, March 1

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) launched a snow-clearing operation on the strategic 479-km-long Manali-Leh national highway today.They started the operation from the Beas Nullah after performing a yajana. The 13,050-foot Rohtang Pass experiences a heavy snowfall during the winter and the Lahaul valley remains cut off for about six months from the rest of the world.Col KP Rajendra Kumar, Commander, 38 Border Road Task Force (BRTF), Manali, said it was for the first time the snow-clearing process started from near Marhi as the area had experienced less snowfall this year. He said, “We are hoping to reach Rohtang top from both sides by the end of this month and restore the 222-km-long stretch up to Sarchu by April, while the remaining stretch would be opened to vehicular traffic by June.He said three teams comprising 90 personnel had been deployed at Marhi, Koksar and Jespa for this operation. The Commander said dozens of dozers, snow cutters and excavators had been pressed into service to clear the road.While last year the restoration of the highway, which is strategically important from the defence point of view, was delayed due to prolonged unfavourable weather conditions, this year the BRO had commenced the snow-clearing operation on schedule.