The famous tourist spot of Himachal Pradesh, Rohtang Pass in Kullu district was on Monday closed for tourists and vehicular traffic keeping in mind the adverse climatic conditions prevalent in the area for the past few days. The online web portal to register vehicles and seek passes to visit the most favoured tourist spot in Kullu Manali has also been closed as the snowfall on Diwali was causing freezing of water on the road. Kullu Deputy Commissioner Ashutosh Garg said the decision has been taken on the basis of a report of Border Roads Organization and local administration that the prevalent low temperatures on Rohtang Pass was causing freezing of the water on road. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.defineSlot(`/96277396/single-article-ad-new`, [300, 250], `div-gpt-ad-1616332879619-0`).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.enableServices(); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(`div-gpt-ad-1616332879619-0`); }); “If we allow the tourists or other vehicles to ply for Rohtang Pass, it might cause accidents and loss of lives as icing on the road may cause vehicles to skid or veer off the road. In addition, the BRO has announced that it has stopped logistics and field support for Rohtang Pass and now only vehicles will be allowed for emergency purposes or rescue operations after the permission from district administration,” he added. It is worthwhile to mention here that Rohtang Pass located at (13,050) remains closed for vehicular traffic in winters owing to the heavy snowfall but is opened from June to October for tourists who make a beeline to visit the spot. The best time to visit the pass is between May to June to October-November as it remains closed for traffic for the rest of the year due to the accumulation of heavy snow. Earlier, the pass was considered as a gateway to Lahaul Spiti, Pangi, and Leh valley but with the opening of Atal Tunnel Rohtang, it had provided all-weather connectivity to tribals living in these areas.

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