Shinku La Pass connecting HP's Lahaul valley to Zanskar in Ladakh reopens

Only locally-registered vehicles will be allowed to ply on the stretch between Darcha and Padum till further orders, said Col Vikas Gulia, director of the Border Roads Organisations BRO Project Yojak.The pass was reopened on Thursday despite the temperature plummeting to minus 25 degrees Celsius, he said.

The Shinku La Pass connecting Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul valley to the Zanskar valley in Ladakh's Kargil district has been reopened after two months, an official said on Friday.

Light vehicles from the Zanskar side were allowed to pass towards Manali. Only locally-registered vehicles will be allowed to ply on the stretch between Darcha and Padum till further orders, said Col Vikas Gulia, director of the Border Roads Organisation's (BRO) Project Yojak.

The pass was reopened on Thursday despite the temperature plummeting to minus 25 degrees Celsius, he said. The Shinku La Pass at 16,580 feet was closed since January 23. The snow-laden pass remains closed during the winter months, snapping links to the Zanskar valley. The approximately 300-kilometre Nimmu-Padum-Darcha Road will be turned into an all-weather road and the BRO will shortly begin work on the four-kilometre-long Shinku La tunnel, Col Gulia said.

Lahaul Deputy Commissioner Sumit Khimta said due to the inclement weather conditions, only locally registered 4x4 vehicles would be allowed on the Darcha-Padum stretch between 9 am and 3 pm. Tourist vehicles will not be allowed beyond Darcha, he added.

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