Rohtang pass opens early for traffic due to polls

Shimla :The Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh has been thrown open for vehicular traffic Friday some four weeks early this year view of the Lok Sabha polls in the hill state on May 7.

Deputy Commissioner Lahaul & Spiti Bir Singh Thakur said the first state roadways bus will leave Kullu for Keylong at 6 am.

The 13,050 ft high pass remains shut for traffic due to heavy snowfall for around half the year . Last year it opened on May 26 .

The high altitude 450 km Manali-Rohtang-Leh road is particularly popular with foreign tourists . It is also used by the army to reach landlocked Ladakh.

The pass remains very popular with tourists visiting the scenic Kullu valley . The state government has recently imposed a toll tax on all vehicles crossing it .

Once cut-off the only way to drop supplies and other essential goods is by helicopter. Sick people are also airlifted out of the isolated valley.