The 428-km Leh-Manali National Highway was reopened by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for vehicular traffic after the arterial road remained closed for nearly five months on Wednesday. The NH was closed due to heavy snowfall during winter and snow accumulation.
The highway was closed in November with the onset of winter and snow accumulation. The road is an alternate route connecting the Union Territory of Ladakh with the rest of the country through Himachal Pradesh.
A Leh-based defence spokesperson said the road was opened for vehicular traffic by the BRO after the completion of the snow clearance operation.
"This challenging operation commenced from two extremities by two different snow clearance teams, working simultaneously and in sync, comprising highly skilled manpower and state-of-the-art machines.
Project Deepak undertook the operation from Manali to Sarchu (border of Ladakh and Himachal) and Project Himank clearing the highway from Leh to Sarchu," the spokesperson added.
He said the teams worked in extremely challenging conditions battling snow storms and treacherous weather conditions of high-altitude areas, clearing the national highway and negotiating four important passes, including the Baralacha La (15,910 ft), Nakee La (15,547 ft), Lachung La (16,616 ft) and Tanglang La (17,482 ft).
