“We are still stuck in Kaza ! “

The route between Manali and Kaza is still out , according to to to a e-mail quoted by IANS today :
“We are still stuck in Kaza! Yesterday (Wednesday), based on information given by the ADC’s office, we set out for Manali.”

“However, contrary to the information that the road through the Kunzum Pass and Rohtang Pass is open, we could not go beyond Kunzum and had to return,” Doongaji wrote.

“There were another 20-odd cars with us, who also came back. The telephone network continues to be dead.”

The main hurdle is said to be near Koksar , which is located at the northern base of the Rothang La. The chief of Lahaul & Spiti police ( who now seems to have counted in around 150 stranded tourists , among them 96 angrezis ) says the road should cleared to Koksar by Friday (tomorrow ) evening.Maybe it works out this time.

The road to Shimla is said to be cleared – except for ( you may have guessed it ) Malling , where people have started to walk across.

UPDATE , FRIDAY : IANS claims that both the Kunzum La and the slides at Koksar has been cleared , giving free access to Manali (or in the media hyperbole “150 tourists have been rescued”).

Spiti Update , September 15th

News today mentions 52 foreign and 24 domestic (Hi Lucid ! )  tourists unable to get out of Spiti , mainly staying in Kaza.The road between Gramphu and Losar has been  badly damaged in landslides , but the section to Chota Dhara is expected to be clear by tomorrow.  The Kinnaur route is also described as out ,but no details.

Source : Tribune , September 15th

Rains Lock Down Shimla-Kinnaur-Spiti Route

All primary and secondary schools have closed today  ( Friday ) as rains causes landslides along the NH 22 (Hindustan-Tibet) and other roads in Kinnaur. Yesterdays news mention fifteen HRTC buses immobilsed between Sarahan and Rekong Peo – apart from another chapter in the never ending story of Malling of going on and off. Shimla received 150 mms of rain , another region 300 mm. Today 99 mm of rain in Shimla , 43 in Kalpa. Night temperaures in Kalpa ( at 2800 mters ) still above freezing point ( + 5 ) , snow in  higher grounds.

New Pare Chu alert

“The fear of flash floods with the water level in the Parechu lake once again rising has come to stalk the people residing in the villages along the Sutlej as the administration has sounded an alert in the districts of Lahaul Spiti, Kinnaur, Shimla, Mandi and Bilaspur.

Senior revenue officials have asked the deputy commissioners (DC) of these five districts to sound an alert and keep all arrangements ready in case people have to be shifted to higher areas. The hooter and sound system has been put in place to meet any eventuality.

It is learnt that the water level in the Parechu lake, which has become a cause of worry for the authorities for the past few years, has been rising.

The banks of the Sutlej have been divided into 11 sectors, seven of which fall in Kinnaur and the remaining in the Rampur area of Shimla district.

The sector officers, police personnel and home guards have been asked to be on duty round the clock so that people can be asked to immediately shift to higher areas in case there are floods. “

full story

Hindustan-Tibet road blocked

Shimla, June 4
Traffic on the Hindustan-Tibet road has been disrupted since last night following a massive landslide triggered by heavy rains near Matiana, about 45 km from here.

The massive landslide took place at 8 pm last night leading to complete closure of vehicular traffic to Kinnaur and other areas. With the closure of the National Highway No. 22 the entire Kinnaur bound traffic, including HRTC buses, have been diverted via Basantpur. Work on clearing the road was still on as the PWD had pressed four bulldozers into service to clear debris from the road.

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Cold wave intensifies in HP

Shimla, December 6
Wintery conditions intensified in Himachal Pradesh following a fresh spell of snowfall in higher altitude areas and rains in mid and lower hills of the state during the past 24 hours, the met sources said today.

Intense coldwave conditions were prevailing in the high-altitude areas of Kinnuar, Lahaul Spiti, Kulu, Chamba, Kangra, Sirmaur and Mandi districts following snowfall for the fourth day today.

Dhundi and Solang Nullah, both in Kulu district, had recorded 48 cm and 13 cm of fresh snowfall last night.

Patseo and Keylong, the district headquarters of Lahaul Spiti, also recorded 25 cm and 6 cm of fresh snowfall during the night, plummeting minimum and maximum temperatures in the tribal areas.

Saach Pass in Chamba district has so far recorded over 2 feet of snowfall during the past four days, disrupting traffic on the Chamba-Pangi road, besides other link roads.

Vehicular traffic has also been suspended on the Manali-Leh road following over 5 feet of snowfall at 13,050-foot high Rohtang Pass, the gateway to Lahaul Spiti district.

Kinner Kailash peak and Srikhand in Kinnuar district, Kunzum Pass at over 14,000 feet, Dhauladhar Ranges in Kangra and Churdhar Ranges in Sirmaur district also experienced snowfall during the past 24, the sources said.

Pangi subdivision of the district has been cut off from the rest of the state following heavy snowfall during the past few days.

The minimum temperatures had plummeted below minus degrees, with Kalpa in Kinnuar district recording a night temperature of minus 2.5 degree celsius, they said.

Landslides cuts off HT road , first snowfalls

The Spiti valley and the entire Pooh subdivision of Kinnaur remained cut-off today as the Hindustan-Tibet Road was once again blocked beyond Reckong Peo following the reports of fresh landslips from the landslide-prone area of Pangi village. Boulders coming down from the landslide area have damaged a stretch of the road completely blocking traffic on both the sides.

There were also reports of landslides on the Hindustan-Tibet Road at Malling Nullah on the Kinnaur and Spiti border where the vehicular traffic has also been halted for the time being. The engineers and labour force of the General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF) were making efforts to open the road link as soon as possible.

Many tourists were reportedly stranded on the other side of the upper Kinnaur and Spiti valley. The state transport has initiated a transit-shipment service at the blockade sites so that daily commuters and the tourists did not suffer inconvenience.

The district administration has, for the time being, asked the PWD to stop the blasting being carried out to widen the old Hindustan-Tibet Road, which is just above the new Hindustan-Tibet Road.

Meanwhile, reports reaching here revealed that the minimum temperature in most of the villages of upper Kinnaur and Spiti valley had suddenly dropped to sub-zero levels forcing the people to stay in their homes.

In Reckong Peo, the district headquarters of Kinnaur, moderate rainfall has been recorded since last night. The maximum temperature here remained below 10 degrees throughout the day. The minimum temperature was likely to dip to the sub-zero level if the rain continued during the night time, said weather experts.

Hindustan-Tibet road opened to traffic among landslides

Reckong Peo, August 17
The Hindustan-Tibet road that was blocked for the past one-week beyond Reckong Peo was re-opened for traffic by the General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF) this morning, even as the risk of being trapped in falling of rocks still prevails.

Blasting by the state Electricity Board and the Public Works Department had allegedly resulted into massive landslide at Pangi village just above the Hindustan-Tibet road.

Rocks were still falling down from the landslide-prone area this afternoon but the GREF personnel deployed there were cautiously making the traffic through even as the risk of being trapped in the rocks still prevails.

A truck hit by falling rocks at this point on the Hindustan-Tibet road had also fell into the Sutlej river on Monday morning.

Colonel M.L. Kom Officer Commanding of GREF said that it requires of manual repairing of the landslide area for a permanent solution to prevent the falling of rocks from above the national highway.

It is the duty of the Public Works Department to fix-up the landslide problem but it has been found that a casual attitude was being adopted by the state agencies ever since the massive landslide struck Pangi village, last week.

There has been continuous pressure on GREF authorities to keep the vital road traffic worthy but ground realities at this point did not permit them to work under uninterrupted falling of rocks.

Cloudbursts

Heavy rains once again undermine the foundations of Kharo Bridge over the Sutlej.

Record rain, snow

Shimla, June 19
Intense coldwave conditions have revived in Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, Kinnuar and Kullu districts of Himachal Pradesh with the higher-altitude areas of the tribal districts experiencing fresh spell of snowfall, while rain lashed the lower areas during the past 24 hrs.

Jhingam, Hikam, Gomik, Losar villages of Lahaul-Spiti recorded over 2 to 5 inches of snowfall, while Kunjum Pass recorded over 7 inches of snowfall.

Rohtang Pass, situated at 13,050 feet above sea level, Baralacha Pass and other mountain peaks were experiencing snowfall since this afternoon.

Reckong Peo, the district headquarters of Kinnaur, was receiving intermittent rain and official sources said the day temperatures were 10 to 12 degrees below normal for this period of the year.

A report from Kullu district said Tirthan Jot, Bisloi Jot, Lamba Lambri, Kirtan Kanda villages and Jaloori Pass in Banjar subdivision had already recorded one-and-a-half feet to 2 feet of snowfall in the past four to five days.

The region had never recorded this amount of snowfall during this month of the year, an official spokesman said.

Kinner Kailesh, Khimuphul Pass and other mountain peaks in Kinnaur district were receiving intermittent snowfall since last night, while the lower areas were lashed by light showers, plummeting the minimum and maximum temperatures in the district.

Pangi subdivision in Chamba district continued to remain cut off from rest of the state for the sixth day today due to closure of Saach Pass, which received another spell of snowfall.