50-km Traffic Jam On Chandigarh-Kullu Highway, Hundreds Of Trucks Stuck

Heavy rainfall and multiple landslides have triggered a 50-km-long traffic jam on the Chandigarh-Kullu highway, stranding thousands of vehicles including hundreds of trucks carrying fruits and vegetables bound for Delhi-NCR.

Authorities said the Chandigarh-Manali highway has been blocked at several points, forcing passengers to wait for hours and halting the movement of essential goods.

Truck drivers stranded on the route said consignments of apples, tomatoes and other vegetables worth crores of rupees are rotting. Each truckload is valued at around Rs 4-4.5 lakh, with apples alone estimated at more than Rs 50 crore stuck in transit.

Chandigarh-Manali highway has been blocked at several points.

Gaffar, a truck driver, said his load of apples was supposed to reach Sahibabad fruit market but has been stuck in Kullu for five days. Thousands of trucks headed for Azadpur and Sahibabad mandis are trapped, he said.

While the highway has been opened for small vehicles, trucks remain trapped. Landslides have occurred at half a dozen locations between Mandi and Kullu, delaying clearance operations.

Ashok Chauhan, an engineer with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Kullu-Manali, said the Beas River's strong flow has damaged several portions of the highway, with repair work underway. Local Jai Bhal said that houses near Ramshila in Kullu have been damaged. He urged the authorities to take corrective measures, or the area could face destruction in future monsoons.

Thousands of trucks headed for Azadpur and Sahibabad mandis are trapped.

Manali Sub-Divisional Magistrate Raman Sharma added that Manali's connectivity from one side has been cut off.

Since Monday, four shops, two restaurants, and one house have been damaged. On Wednesday, in Bilaspur district's Naina Devi constituency, a house collapsed after heavy rainfall in Manjhed village.

Since Tuesday evening, several parts of Himachal Pradesh have received heavy rain, causing widespread disruption. Hundreds of roads remain blocked, with Mandi and Kullu among the worst hit, while power and water supply lines have also been severely affected. Since June 20, rain-related incidents have killed at least 158 people, left 38 people missing, and caused losses of over Rs 2,623 crore.