Monsoon rains and a series of landslides have formed a gargantuan 50-kilometer traffic hold-up on the Chandigarh-Kullu road, bringing thousands of vehicles to a standstill. The clog has been disastrous for the scores of trucks laden with perishable commodities like fruits and vegetables to Delhi-NCR.
Perishable Goods Worth Crores Turn Rotten In Transit
The Chandigarh-Manali road is now blocked at several points, halting the flow of traffic completely. Truck drivers stranded on the highways complain that crores of rupees worth of fresh produce is getting spoiled in the trucks. One truckload of apples, for example, would cost about Rs 4-4.5 lakh. The overall loss from the stuck apple consignment alone is estimated to be over Rs 50 crore.
“My apple truckload was destined for Sahibabad fruit mandi, but I’ve remained here for five days,” quoted a truck driver, Gaffar. “Thousands of trucks bound for Azadpur and Sahibabad mandis are stranded here.”
Landslides And Damaged Roads Halt Relief Efforts
Though authorities have succeeded in making way for light vehicles, trucks are stuck because of landslides at six points between Mandi and Kullu. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is carrying out repair work but the heavy currents of the Beas River have wrecked many sections of the highway, which has slowed down the progress.
Kullu, Himachal Pradesh: Torrential rains have caused the Beas River to flood and damaged National Highway-3 pic.twitter.com/CPK5ICq6WF
— IANS (@ians_india) August 28, 2025
Manali Sub-Divisional Magistrate Raman Sharma testified that connectivity of the town has been cut off from one direction. In the entire state of Himachal Pradesh, incidents due to rain have been one after another, leaving 158 dead and 38 missing since June 20. The overall monetary loss in the monsoon season has already crossed Rs 2,623 crore.
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