Landslide blocks Chandigarh-Manali highway, some traffic restored

Mandi: The Chandigarh-Manali National Highway was blocked near Mandi in Himachal Pradesh following a landslide triggered by a 7.2 magnitude quake that jolted northern India on Monday afternoon. “The hill (where the landslide occurred) is being examined before the area is cleared for movement of traffic”, said a district official.

21 has been blocked due to a major landslide. While commuters had a narrow escape, landslide is still continuing on the Chandigarh-Manali road with the mountain showing many cracks. The road stretch where the landslide took place runs along the mountain on one side and the Bear river on the other. Fearing a mishap, people stopped their vehicles at a certain distance. We thought some loose boulders were falling, but we were wrong, ” said Rakesh Sharma, who was travelling to Shimla from Manali.

The moment the massive landslide hit the river below blocking the road.

CNN-IBN added that the local administration said that it will take more than a day to clear all the debris as a result of the landslide near Manali.

Ghanshyan Thakur, a taxi driver, said some people were trying to walk across that point when the huge chunk of the mountain collapsed, raising a dust cloud.