Vegetable suppliers and distributors of Manali in Himachal Pradesh reported trouble in delivering the supplies after the Aleo-Manali National Highway was damaged due to heavy rain in the northern state.

The transport disruption has significantly impacted the supply of vegetables from Punjab.

Vegetable distributor Ashish Sharma told ANI that the community is incurring a higher cost of labour for transporting the vegetables and earning no profits.

Urging the administration to expedite road restoration work, he told ANI, "The road was blocked after the floods on August 26, and we are facing trouble with transportation. We had to transport it on foot on August 28 and had to pay Rs 200 per item to the labourers, due to which the vegetables are costing us a lot. We urge the administration to begin the route as soon as possible."

He also said that they cannot sell the vegetables at higher prices due to the orders by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate.

"We cannot sell vegetables at higher prices as per the orders by the SDM, and selling at high prices is not good in times of disasters. Our profit is zero, but the public should get the supplies. We are afraid...it is being told that it will rain for the next two to three days," he said.

Amid continuous heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday, the Chandigarh-Manali Highway was closed due to a landslide in Banala.

Heavy rainfall in the Kullu district has also led to a portion of the national highway being washed away due to the overflowing of the Beas River.

Meanwhile, the weather agency India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert in Kullu, predicting 5-15 mm of rainfall per hour till 12 noon on Friday, while an orange alert has been issued in the adjacent district of Kangra.

The IMD earlier predicted rainfall in Himachal Pradesh for the next six days.