Leh-Manali Strategic Highway to open for traffic today

28-03-2021: After being closed for winter for nearly four months, Leh- Manali Highway will be open for traffic today. With this Ladakh is getting connected with the rest of the world by road. As per media reports, with the opening of the strategically important Leh- Manali axis, Ladakh region will be connected to the country.

With four high passes, the 428-kilometer highway is always a challenge to operate, for the engineers and workforce of Himank and Deepak projects of Border Road Organisation (BRO). Due to the tensions in the eastern Ladakh region, portions of this road was kept open till early December.

Especially, Taglang La pass which receives the highest snowfall was kept open throughout the winters. Daring high velocity the snow blizzards in freezing temperatures the Border Road Organization is creating history today, by opening the Leh Manali axis almost two months in advance.

The road from Manali to Leh is open between June and October, every year before the snow covers it up. The Manali to Leh highway remains under snow until it is opened by the Border Roads Organisation (Indian Army’s road division). This road has some of the best views of the Himalayas and some of the world’s highest motorable roads with an average elevation of around 4000 Metres or 13000 Feet. The first great pass is the Rohtang Pass (3948 Mts) which is around 53 km from Manali. Then we pass the Baralach La (5030 Mts) and Tanglang La Pass (5360 Mts) which is also the world’s third-highest motorable pass after Khardung La and Chang La.