MANALI: A cloudburst in the area between Patseo and Zingzing Bar , 166km from here, blocked the Manali-Leh highway at 9pm on Tuesday night and left 1200 tourists stuck on both sides of the damaged road for over 17 hours. The road was cleared at 2.30pm on Wednesday but danger still persists for travellers as another downpour can trigger a massive landslide on the road.Many parts of the state are experiencing rain and the rivers are in spate. The major rivers and their tributaries are carrying large amount of silt after heavy downpour in the hills. Chhaki nullah near Manali is also flooded. Water in Beas, Parbati and Chenab rivers is flowing above the normal level."Hundreds of tourists were stranded on both sides of the damaged portion of the road. Nearly 400 pilgrims who were coming after "Sindhu Darshan" from Leh towards Manali also got stuck near Zingzing Bar. The road has been made temporarily motorable. We had to rush to the spot to help the pilgrims who have now moved to Manali," a resident from Lahaul, Mohan Lal Relingpa, said.Many tourists spent the nights in their cars but it was a nightmare for over a hundred bikers. Tourists took shelter in the make-shift dhabas and saved themselves from chilling cold amid heavy downpour.Sources said that a 200m stretch was under threat of landslide and flood. The entire region is experiencing heavy rain since Tuesday.Border Roads Organization (BRO) commandant Lieutenant Colonel Vijay Kumar said," We could not clear the debris at night as flow of water was very high. We have deployed our machines at KM-166. Possibly, an avalanche struck the upper part of the area and caused rolling of the boulders."

Stay updated with all the Chandigarh Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.