Confirming that towering peaks of Himalayas have emerged from the Tethys ocean, noted geologist Dr Ritesh Arya has discovered 20 million years old fossil of palm leaves from fragile rocks of Ladakh. Measuring more than 4ft in length, the fossil is expected to be over 20 million years old when the present-day Himalayas were not formed. Arya has discovered the fossil on a fragile rock surface in southern part of Indus river in Leh district. According to him, the fossil represents the near-coastal environment of Ladakh millions of years back as this species is not found anywhere in the present-day Himalayan regions. He said the fragile fossil needs proper care to protect it from being destroyed. He said the site can become a popular tourist destination of Ladakh where tourists will come to see how this region used to be a coastal area millions of years ago. “The fossil has been found from the Tethyan sediments of Ladakh when I was searching for specimens for geological museum and laboratory that I had established a few days back in a school in Ladakh. Tethys sea was once separating India from Tibet in geological history till 20 million years ago. The presence of fossils of palm from the sediments of Indus molasse in Ladakh clearly shows that Ladakh Himalayas were once below the sea. Probably the area till sediments from where the fossils are found were below the sea. Palm fossils represent near-coastal environment,” he said. Arya added that large size of the actual specimens of fossil shows that conditions at the time of deposition would have been hot and humid similar to equatorial climatic conditions. “These types of floras are found nowhere in the modern-day Himalayas. Fossils of palm leaves have been found in Kasauli, Himachal, by HB Medlicott in 1864.
Confirming that towering peaks of Himalayas have emerged from the Tethys ocean, noted geologist Dr Ritesh Arya has discovered 20 million years old fossil of palm leaves from fragile rocks of Ladakh. Measuring more than 4ft in length, the fossil is expected to be over 20 million years old when the present-day Himalayas were not
Tourists who have Leh Ladakh in their must-visit bucket list may soon get an opportunity to travel to Leh town from Delhi or Manali as train to Leh is going to turn reality very soon. While other vehicles take three days of travel time from Delhi and two days from Manali, the train to Leh from Delhi will cover this distance in just one day and from Manali to Leh in nearly 10 hours. Taking a leap ahead of China and Pakistan, India has expedited efforts to connect Leh Ladakh by railway line as final survey, alignment and land acquisition for ambitious Bilaspur-Manali-Leh track, the highest in the world, has been speeded up in Himachal. The projects, however, may miss its 2022 deadline but the government is completing final formalities on the war footing. According to sources, all the projects along border roads including Rohtang tunnel and Leh railway line have been expedited following unrest at the border. The initial marking of the track on Bhanupali-Bilaspur-Mandi-Manali section has already been done. Now Northern Railway is carrying out final alignment and land acquisition starting from Bhanupali in Bilaspur. The process may take a few months to complete. The main challenge in alignment will begin after Manali beyond which majority of the line will be built in tunnels. However, there will be no problem in land acquisition as the whole area with thin population is mostly government land. “Land acquisition has started from Bhanupali in Bilaspur district and surveys have begun in Mandi district,” Mandi MP Ram Swaroop Sharma said, adding that the project has already delayed but has now been expedited for larger interest of the nation. “Building of this railway line has picked up pace following orders from the Centre. This railway line will make our military forces stronger at
Tourists who have Leh Ladakh in their must-visit bucket list may soon get an opportunity to travel to Leh town from Delhi or Manali as train to Leh is going to turn reality very soon. While other vehicles take three days of travel time from Delhi and two days from Manali, the train to Leh
Srinagar - Leh Road (2019): OPEN Manali - Leh Road (2019): CLOSED (Officially) CLICK HERE to know the Manali-Leh road status for 2021 CLICK HERE to know the Manali-Leh road status for 2020 Excerpt: October 15, 2019: The Manali-Leh highway is offically closed. Police posts from Sarchu and Darcha have been removed. As layer of ice has started to deposit on road surface and high passes are receiving snow, driving on this road is very risky. The administration and police declare the road officially closed from October 15 every year. June 9, 2019: Manali-Leh highway opens for vehicular traffic. BRO on Sunday said the highway is open for vehicles from June 10. Please note that the condition of the road is bad at some places. Snowfall, ice slide and some others factors are causing minor blockades. June 2, 2019: Manali-Leh highway is expected to open by June 7. June 1, 2019: Rohtang pass opens for tourists. May 31, 2019: Tourists can go till Lahaul valley beyond Rohtang pass after obtaining manual permit from Manali SDM office. May 18, 2019: Manali-Rohtang pass highway resumed but tourists will not be allowed until parking and other arrangements are made. April 28, 2019: Srinagar-Leh highway has been opened for vehicular traffic as BRO clears snow from Zojila pass. Tourist vehicles are expected to be allowed to ply in a week. April 10, 2019: Kullu district magistrate issued notification regarding timing system for all vehicles going/coming to/from Rohtang pass or beyond. Tourist vehicles going from Manali towards Leh-Ladakh will have to cross Gulaba barrier below Rohtang from 5:30am to 7:30am. No vehicle (going beyond Rohtang pass) will be allowed after 7:30am. March 25, 2019: Snow clearance operations on Manali-Leh highway started officially after organizing a puja at Gulaba for safety of jawans and machines. BRO officials
Srinagar – Leh Road (2019): OPEN Manali – Leh Road (2019): CLOSED (Officially) CLICK HERE to know the Manali-Leh road status for 2021 CLICK HERE to know the Manali-Leh road status for 2020 Excerpt: October 15, 2019: The Manali-Leh highway is offically closed. Police posts from Sarchu and Darcha have been removed. As layer of ice
Discover Leh Ladakh has achieved another feat by becoming first to reach Zanskar valley of Ladakh using the newly built Manali Shinkula Zanskar road that has decreased the distance between Manali and Zanskar by over 630 KM. The road between Darcha in Lahaul valley of Himachal and Padum in Zanskar is being built above 16,600ft high Shinkula (Shingo-la) pass for nearly 10 years now. Although the road is not safe for general traffic movement and is still under construction, team Discover Leh Ladakh successfully reached Padum, headquarters of Zanskar, in their SUV in just one day. Otherwise, Manali to Zanskar is a four-day-long drive and it is two days drive from Leh. Zanskar is a Buddhist dominated valley in Kargil district of Ladakh. The beautiful valley which is home to a large number of huge glaciers, rivers, towering peaks and vast plateaus, is divided from Suru valley (Kargil) via Pensi-la pass. Kargil to Padum (Zanskar) is about 9 to 10 hours hectic but beautiful journey. Drang-Drung glacier and Nun Kun glaciers that almost touch the road are main attractions of this road trip. Zanskar is home to about 15,000 residents. As their culture, trade relations and religion is similar to residents of Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal, they always wanted to get connected with Himachal. Despite old Kargil-Zanskar road, the residents used to come to Manali and Lahaul after covering large distance on foot via Shinkula pass. The residents of Zanskar valley celebrated coming close to Himachal by over 630km as they welcomed the first vehicle in the valley that arrived via new road after crossing the Shinkula pass on September 3, 2019. Watching a vehicle coming into the valley from Shinkula pass, the three from Discover Leh Ladakh were given warm welcome by happy residents in many villages. The Border Roads Organization (BRO) officials,
Discover Leh Ladakh has achieved another feat by becoming first to reach Zanskar valley of Ladakh using the newly built Manali Shinkula Zanskar road that has decreased the distance between Manali and Zanskar by over 630 KM. The road between Darcha in Lahaul valley of Himachal and Padum in Zanskar is being built above 16,600ft
If you are planning to go to Leh Ladakh from Manali in 2019, make sure you cross Rohtang pass before noon as Kullu administration has decided to set up a one-directional traffic system on Manali-Rohtang highway from May onwards. This post is to help tourists with the Rohtang pass timing system. In an effort to combat one of the worst traffic jams on the hill roads of the world, Kullu administration will start a timing system for better traffic management. Manali-Rohtang road is expected to open in May while Manali-Leh road may take little more time to open. Once Marhi and Rohtang pass are open to tourist vehicles, timing system and one-way traffic shall come into force. Huge crowd chokes the whole highway especially in May and June, the peak tourist season. Officials said they are planning to allow vehicles going beyond Rohtang pass (Ladakh, Lahaul-Spiti, and Pangi) in the early hours and then they will send Rohtang pass bound vehicles. The cops have been asked to enforce the Rohtang pass timing system strictly. Kullu deputy commissioner Yunus, while holding a meeting with officials of all the departments, associations and stakeholders prior to the start of peak tourist season, said vehicles going to Rohtang, Lahaul-Spiti, Pangi and Ladakh would be allowed to go till noon after which entry from Manali side would be restricted completely. “Once all vehicles reach Rohtang (or cross Rohtang), the vehicles coming from the opposite side would be allowed to come towards Manali. This will probably end all traffic bottlenecks and traffic will move smoothly. The restriction would not be applied in emergency vehicles like ambulance,” he said. Highway connecting Manali town will also be made one-way during the summer season. The DC said vehicles entering Manali town will have to take another route for exit.
If you are planning to go to Leh Ladakh from Manali in 2019, make sure you cross Rohtang pass before noon as Kullu administration has decided to set up a one-directional traffic system on Manali-Rohtang highway from May onwards. This post is to help tourists with the Rohtang pass timing system. In an effort to
Srinagar - Leh Road (2018): OPEN Manali - Leh Road (2018): CLOSE (Officially closed on Oct 15 till 2019 summer season) Manali - Rohtang Road (2018): OPEN Click here to know the Manali-Leh Road Status for 2020 CLICK HERE to know the Manali-Leh road status for 2019 Police posts removed; Manali-Leh road closed officially Update on October 15, 2018 October 15, 2018: The Manali-Leh highway has been closed officially for vehicular traffic beyond Darcha village of Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal, about 145km from Manali. The road is still operational between Manali and Keylong up to Darcha and will be closed officially on November 15. Traffic between Lahaul and Leh is closed officially every year on October 15 under subzero temperature when everything starts freezing in the area. Lahaul-Spiti police have removed seasonal traffic check post from Darcha, the last village of district towards Ladakh, on Monday. Police check post from Sarchu has already been removed after recent heavy snowfall. Now there is nobody to monitor safe movement of the vehicles. People of Leh and tourists can now opt for Srinagar-Leh highway which closes weeks after this highway. Lahaul-Spiti superintendent of police Rajesh Dharmani said police check post at Darcha will remain shut during winter season. “Rescue posts would be set up on either sides of Rohtang pass on November 15. We have advised people not to drive towards Leh as it can prove fatal. The road surface has been covered with ice, making it very slippery.” Very heavy snowfall on September 22 and 23 and blocked all the passes including Rohtang and Baralacha pass and hundreds of tourists and vehicles had stranded for days. However, Border Roads Organization (BRO) had cleared snow from Manali-Leh highway on October 1 to facilitate the stranded people and vehicles. There is no snow on the highway but corners of the road are still protected by thick layer of snow at many places. BRO will keep working
Srinagar – Leh Road (2018): OPEN Manali – Leh Road (2018): CLOSE (Officially closed on Oct 15 till 2019 summer season) Manali – Rohtang Road (2018): OPEN Click here to know the Manali-Leh Road Status for 2020 CLICK HERE to know the Manali-Leh road status for 2019 Police posts removed; Manali-Leh road closed officially Update
LEH: “Biking Queens”, a group of 50 women bikers from Gujarat, who aims to ride over 10,000 km and cover 15 states, will reach 18,380 ft high Khardungla pass on August 15 and hoist National Flag here to mark Independence Day. This is the only one of its kind women only bike tours to Ladakh. The group, named Biking Queens, has reached Manali on Wednesday. On Thursday, they shall start their onward journey to Ladakh taking a midway halt at Jispa and Sarchu. The group will reach Leh on Saturday. The ‘All Women All India’ ride which was flagged off in the presence of Anandiben Patel, Ex Chief Minister of Gujarat, on July 19, had been to Gujarat and Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand states covering 5, 547 KM journey. The biking queens have taken inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” and “Swachch Bharat”. As part of an ambitious 10,438-km ride, covering 15 states to popularise the Central government campaign “Sashakta Nari, Sashakta Bharat”, “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” and “Swachchh Bharat”. In next 25 days these queens would visit Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan and conclude their voyage back in Gujarat. To spread the message of women empowerment and save the girl child, around 50 women riders on a mission to visit schools and interact with bikers from 15 states and would distribute educational kit to student and sanitary kits teenage girls. So far on their voyage these queens have received overwhelming response from the community groups, students, teaching staff of schools. These women bikers were astonished by the honour they received by 150 local male bikers from Dulapally village in Hyderabad. Also Riders of Bangalore, Bangalore’s Riders club and many other bikers met these queens and
LEH: “Biking Queens”, a group of 50 women bikers from Gujarat, who aims to ride over 10,000 km and cover 15 states, will reach 18,380 ft high Khardungla pass on August 15 and hoist National Flag here to mark Independence Day. This is the only one of its kind women only bike tours to Ladakh. The
Permit for Rohtang pass and Ladakh Be it Rohtang pass, Manali-Leh highway or restricted areas of Ladakh, visitors are required to obtain a special permit to visit these places. While permits in Ladakh are mandatory due to security reasons, permit system in Manali is new that came into effect from 2014 after the intervention of National Green Tribunal (NGT) which is concerned about the fragile ecology of Rohtang area. NGT has limited the number of vehicles visiting Rohtang pass. To control the traffic flow, NGT has ordered Himachal government to issue permits to the limited number of vehicles (for tourism purpose) on daily basis. However, NGT has not restricted movement of tourists going beyond Rohtang pass (Ladakh, Lahaul-Spiti and Pangi) but as the Himachal government was facing problem in identifying the vehicles that are actually going beyond Rohtang pass and those going to Rohtang pass, it has started issuing separate permits in both the cases. Here we should make clear that permits in Manali are issued for vehicles and not for the persons while in Ladakh inner line permits are requested for individuals. Permit to visit Rohtang pass Daily 860 petrol and 440 diesel vehicles can be issued online permit to go to Rohtang pass. Vehicles are required to pay Rs 50 towards congestion charges and Rs 500 towards permit charges online. As per the NGT directions dated June 19, 2017, daily limit of vehicles that can go to Rohtang has been increased from 1,200 to 1,300 vehicles. Of the total, 1,200 permits can be issued to Himachali or non-Himachali vehicles but 75 permits will be reserved for non-Himachali vehicles and 25 permits will be reserved for Himachali vehicles other than registered in Kullu district. NGT has limited number of vehicles to control the carbon emission and not the number
Permit for Rohtang pass and Ladakh Be it Rohtang pass, Manali-Leh highway or restricted areas of Ladakh, visitors are required to obtain a special permit to visit these places. While permits in Ladakh are mandatory due to security reasons, permit system in Manali is new that came into effect from 2014 after the intervention of
Srinagar - Leh Road (2017): CLOSE Manali - Leh Road (2017): CLOSE CLICK HERE to know the Manali-Leh road status for 2021 Click here to know the Manali-Leh Road Status for 2020 CLICK HERE to know the Manali-Leh road status for 2019 CLICK HERE to know the Manali-Leh road status for 2018 Manali-Leh highway closes for vehicular traffic November 15, 2016: Passing through some of the highest mountain passes of the word, Manali-Leh highway, which is experiencing extreme cold conditions and some of its stretches are covered with layer of frost, is officially closed till next year. Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti administration has requested people to avoid traveling on this route. Water sources along the highway have frozen completely. A layer of frost is covering the road at Rohtang, Baralacha, Sarchu, Keling Sarai, Taglang-la, Pang and other high altitude areas. Frost remains round the clock in shady areas, increasing possibility of skidding of the vehicles. Apart from icing, the temperature is such that mountains can experience snowfall any time. Taking precautionary measures, the highway is officially declared closed every year on November 15. Though vehicular movement continues at own risk between Manali and Lahaul as this highway is the only lifeline to the residents but people traveling would be responsible for any accident. However, the traffic movement between Keylong (Lahaul) and Leh is almost nil. The main risk after October 15 remains of sudden snowfall which may trap vehicles at secluded areas away from any help. Police posts from Sarchu, too, have been removed until next season. In the past, too many such incidences have put people in trouble because weather between Rohtang and Taglang-la is unpredictable which changes within a few minutes. No telephone network works in this area. Meanwhile, vehicular traffic is still continuing on the Srinagar-Leh highway. However, its too cold at Zojila and other passes
Srinagar – Leh Road (2017): CLOSE Manali – Leh Road (2017): CLOSE CLICK HERE to know the Manali-Leh road status for 2021 Click here to know the Manali-Leh Road Status for 2020 CLICK HERE to know the Manali-Leh road status for 2019 CLICK HERE to know the Manali-Leh road status for 2018 Manali-Leh highway closes
LEH: The Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir State Dr Nirmal Kumar Singh who is also the Minister for Housing and Urban Development today inspected the site for construction of multi tier parking facility at Leh under AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) and ongoing initial works for Solid Waste Management Plant under Leh beautification project across the mountain of Skampari Leh today morning. He was accompanied by Minister for Ladakh Affairs and Cooperative Chhering Dorjey, Chief Executive Councilor LAHDC Leh Dr. Sonam Dawa, Executive Councilors, DC, Leh Prasanna Ramaswamy G and engineers. While inspecting the site for construction of multi tier parking facility at Leh, the minister was informed that tender for this parking facility with capacity of 263 Cars with a total estimated cost of Rs. 26 crore has already been flouted and Kinetix Company has been engaged as a consultant agency for all the projects in Leh under AMRUT. For earliest completion of this much awaited project, Dy CM Dr. Nirmal directed DC Leh for earliest demolition of all the buildings from the site and also directed him to ensure time bound completion of the facility. Later, while inspecting the initial works of Solid Waste Management system of Leh Town across the mountain of Skampari Leh with the a total sanctioned cost of Rs. 10.94 crore, Dr. Nirmal and Minister Dorjey observed that besides completion of approach road and 2 Nos of Trench executed by Construction Division, no progress was achieved at the site. Inquiring about the reasons for delay in installation of In Vessel Composed Plant at the site from the engineers of WAPCOS Ltd engaged for the project, Dy. CM and Minister Dorjey directed DC Leh to take written dateline statement from the CMD of WAPCOS for earliest completion of this project and
LEH: The Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir State Dr Nirmal Kumar Singh who is also the Minister for Housing and Urban Development today inspected the site for construction of multi tier parking facility at Leh under AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) and ongoing initial works for Solid Waste Management Plant under
