Mandi-Pathankot highway restored for vehicular movement after seven hour landslide blockade

Mandi: In a major relief for thousands of commuters and supply transport vehicles, the strategic Mandi-Pathankot National Highway (NH-154) was successfully reopened for vehicular movement following a grueling seven-hour blockade. The highway had been completely cut off early in the morning due to a massive landslide triggered by continuous torrential rainfall in the region.

The landslide occurred at a highly vulnerable stretch near Kotrupi, bringing down a massive deluge of boulders, thick mud, and uprooted trees onto the tarmac. The sudden collapse completely choked both lanes of the vital highway, leaving hundreds of passenger buses, commercial trucks, and private tourists stranded on either side of the mountain pass. Local authorities immediately swung into action, dispatching emergency response teams alongside heavy earth-moving machinery and JCB excavators to the disaster zone.

"The clearance operation was highly challenging due to rolling stones and slippery hillside terrain. Our teams worked continuously for nearly seven hours to clear the massive debris and safely stabilize the slope for passing vehicles," a National Highways Authority official confirmed.

Public works personnel and local traffic police coordinated to divert smaller light vehicles through alternative rural link roads while the heavy machinery cleared the primary highway corridor. By afternoon, the structural debris was pushed off the highway lanes, allowing stranded vehicles to resume their journeys in a controlled, one-way system to prevent immediate traffic jams.

While the highway is currently operational, district authorities have urged drivers to exercise extreme caution, lower their transit speeds, and avoid traveling during night hours. The regional Meteorological department has warned that intermittent rains could trigger further loose soil movements, prompting emergency patrolling units to remain on standby along highly sensitive choke points of the highway network.