Watch: A landslide in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur blocks traffic on NH5
The authorities aim to clear the debris and restore traffic by the end of Tuesday.
A landslide near Kashang Nala in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh, blocked off a part of National Highway 5 on Tuesday, bringing traffic to a standstill.
As one clip showed, a portion of a mountain collapsed onto the road as onlookers and travellers scurried away.
The control room of the Kinnaur Police said that the General Reserve Engineer Force of the Border Roads Organisation was working to clear the road and hoped to restore traffic by the end of Tuesday. As of Tuesday afternoon, smaller vehicles are were diverted through the neighbouring tehsil of Pangi.
However, roads in the entire district remain risky with elevated chances of landslides, added the police officer, who did not want to be identified.
Just two days ago, on June 23, a biker and his pillion rider were crushed to death by a landslide at Pangi nullah along Kalpa-Pooh road in Kinnaur. On June 6, the Luhri-Anni section of NH305 near Kullu was blocked for two days after a landslide. On June 2, a taxi driver was killed and a family of five from Maharashtra had a narrow escape as boulders collapsed on the Chandigarh-Manali highway near Aut in Mandi district.
According to a Times of India report, 21 landslide-prone points have been identified in Himachal Pradesh, several along national highways.
Kinnaur is one of twelve administrative districts in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.