On Saturday, 26 March 2022, a day after, BRO opened the Zojila Pass for civilian traffic on the Srinagar- Kargil- Leh Road on NH 1, the Border Road Organisation (BRO) opened up the 210 Km long Manali-Sarchu Road on NH 1D in Himachal Pradesh. This opening of Manali – Sarchu Road establishes the vital connection to Lahaul District in Himachal Pradesh which further leads to Leh in Ladakh.

According to PIB, during the winters the Road normally remains closed for over 160-180 days in a year, but this time Project Deepak of BRO has opened the road in 117 days, as the last convoy had moved on 29 Nov 2021. The early opening is more creditable due to the fact that this year the region witnessed an exponential increase in snowfall as compared to last year. The BRO adopted a two-prong approach, with the simultaneous deployment of snow clearance teams from two sides, one from Patsio to Baralacha La and the second from Sarchu to Baralacha La.

During winters, Sarchu remains cut off from the rest of the country. To achieve success and early opening of the pass, and the road, aerial induction of the snow clearance team was undertaken on 05 March 2022 from Sarchu.

In the initial days, as a precautionary measure, the road will be opened only for movement of Army logistics convoys, for delivery of essential supplies for troops deployed in forwarding areas. Movement of all traffic will commence in the near future, on approval from the Civil Administration.