Darcha Shinkula road to Zanskar valley reopens, BRO rescues stranded tourists
Photo of Darcha bridge used for indicative purpose only
Shimla, Apr 25,
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), mandated by the Indian Army to keep important mountain roads open, has achieved another big success by reopening the Darcha-ShinkuLa-Padum road, which is one of the shorter access to Zanskar valley in Ladakh from Himachal Pradesh.
This road connects Lahaul to the remote Zanskar valley in Ladakh. It had been closed due to heavy snowfall at the high-altitude Shinku La Pass, leaving many travelers stuck.
This reopening comes after BRO had already cleared the road to Zanskar Valley on April 9, and just a few days ago, on April 23, it had restored Shinku La Pass, located at 16,580 feet. Both openings are part of BRO’s Yojya Project, which ensures year-round access to border regions.
After the pass was cleared, a fresh snowstorm again blocked the Darcha-Shinku La-Padum road, and around 45 tourists got stranded in the Zanskar region. With temperatures dropping and limited food or shelter, the tourists posted videos on social media asking for urgent help.
BRO responded quickly. Despite the cold and dangerous terrain, their teams worked overnight using snow-cutting machines and reopened the road by Thursday morning. All stranded tourists were safely rescued and taken toward Manali.
Rahul Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Lahaul and Spiti, said, “All tourists have been safely evacuated. We are thankful to BRO for their fast and brave work in such tough conditions.”
This road is very important for both locals and tourists. It allows the movement of essential supplies and connects people living in far-off mountain areas.
Administration likely to announced the entire stretch of NH-3 opened for the normal traffic in May however two passes are considered vital for the strategic road .
After Pahelgaon masscare this roads expected to be cleared before the time line as escalation was been increased on the border which are linked through land route by 425 km long Manali Leh roads.
However, due to fresh snowfall in areas like Atal Tunnel Rohtang (North Portal), Sissu, Jispa, and Darcha, the weather has turned colder in Lahaul-Spiti. BRO teams continue to face tough conditions while working to restore the Manali-Leh road. The weather is expected to stay rough in higher regions on Friday, while lower areas may see some improvement.
In other parts of Himachal, NH-05 near Nesang Jhula in Kinnaur district, which was blocked due to a landslide, has also been cleared and is now open to all vehicles.
All major roads are already opened in Kinnaur district.
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