Landslide blocks Chandigarh-Manali highway

Traffic on the Chandigarh-Manali national highway has been blocked following a massive landslide along the Beas river in Himachal Pradesh, police said on Saturday.

However, there were no reports of any casualties.

Nearly 100 metres of the national highway was badly damaged in the landslide that occurred near Aut in Mandi district on Friday night.

Hundreds of vehicles remained stranded on both sides of the affected area.

District authorities claimed that traffic was partially restored for small vehicles through diversions on alternate roads.

"JCB machines are trying to clear the debris and likely to restored by afternoon," said a district official.

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and district authorities have deployed equipment to remove the debris.- IANS