Shimla commuters stranded as Manali highway blocked by fresh landslide
Shimla faced renewed travel chaos on Monday as a fresh landslide blocked the Chandigarh–Manali highway near Pandoh in Mandi district, barely hours after it had been reopened. The disruption left commuters stranded for over eight hours amidst relentless rainfall and dangerous shooting stones that delayed debris clearance. While authorities managed to reopen the highway by afternoon, small vehicles were rerouted through alternative roads, and heavy traffic remained stalled, underscoring the fragility of road infrastructure in Himachal Pradesh’s monsoon-affected zones.
The blockage reflects a larger mobility crisis in the region, where over 190 roads remain closed due to monsoon-triggered landslides and floods. Mandi district has been hit the hardest, with 146 roads still disrupted, including 91 critical link roads in the remote Seraj area. The damage has isolated entire communities, severely hampering access to emergency services, markets, and health care. While local officials are working around the clock, they remain constrained by weather conditions, challenging terrain, and the scale of devastation. Beyond roadways, public utilities in Mandi continue to suffer. Power outages affect 59 transformers, while 133 water supply schemes in the district await restoration. Statewide, 745 water supply projects remain stalled, with Kangra district accounting for the bulk of these failures.
The delays in restoring essential services are increasing hardship for residents, many of whom are facing sanitation and drinking water issues. The prolonged outages have also disrupted economic activity in smaller towns that depend on daily mobility and basic services. According to the state emergency operations centre, the toll from this year’s monsoon has risen to 105 lives, with Mandi recording the highest number of fatalities. Financially, the state has already suffered over ₹786 crore in damages since the monsoon began on June 20. The cascading impacts of road destruction, infrastructure collapse, and climate vulnerability reveal deeper systemic gaps in disaster preparedness. The recurring landslides also point to urgent questions around slope management, ecological conservation, and resilient road design in Himalayan regions.
As road repair and restoration efforts continue, it becomes vital for the state to invest in long-term adaptive infrastructure. Hill states like Himachal Pradesh must revise their development models to withstand increasingly erratic weather patterns. Strengthening slope stabilisation, improving drainage systems, and adopting sustainable road-building practices are now urgent needs. More importantly, protecting communities from recurring climate-induced disruptions should become central to future planning and governance frameworks.
