Shimla, Oct 14 - The strategic Manali-Leh National Highway 21 will be closed for vehicular traffic from Oct 31, an official said Wednesday.

"The Manali-Leh highway will be closed for traffic from Oct 31 onwards," R. K. Agarwal, a spokesperson for the Border Road Organisation (BRO), told IANS here. The BRO is responsible for maintaining the highway.

He said after the end of this month chances of untimely snowfall on the highway that passes through Rohtang Pass (13,050 ft), Baralacha Pass (16,020 ft), Lachlungla Pass (16,620 ft) and Tanglangla (17,480 ft) were high.

"After the end of this month, we will not be in a position to operate the highway smoothly. We have issued guidelines in this regard to the state government too," he said.

The 475-km Manali-Leh highway passes through the most rugged and inhospitable terrain of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

The highway plays an important role in the movement of armed forces in Ladakh. (IANS)