Over 1,000 stranded in Himachal Pradesh

Stranded tourists being brought to Kullu, on Wednesday. Pic/PTI

More than 650 people, including five foreigners, have been evacuated in the past two days and over 1,000 are still stranded in snow-marooned Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, officials said on Wednesday. Three stranded persons, including a pregnant woman from Nepal, have died in the past two days.

On Wednesday, as the weather cleared, the government and the Indian Air Force (IAF) stepped up efforts to airlift tourists stranded for the past four days. "State government teams and IAF choppers are on the job to airlift the stranded. Most have been brought to Manali and Kullu towns," Kullu Deputy Commissioner Yunus Khan, who is supervising the relief and rescue operation, said. The IAF has deployed three helicopters while the state is using the chief minister's official chopper.

All-time connectivity

• Construction of the Rohtang tunnel, one of the world's most challenging motorable projects at 3,000 metres above sea level and which will provide all-season connectivity to the Lahaul valley from Manali, is on and might be completed by 2020.
• The excavation of the 8.8-km long horseshoe shaped tunnel under the 3,978 metres Rohtang Pass was completed last October.

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