Shimla/ Dharamshala, March 17 -- All 1,500 vehicles stranded near the South Portal of the Atal Tunnel, following heavy overnight snowfall, have been rescued while rescue is on to clear the vehicles coming from Sissu, said officials on Monday, even as some tourists remain stranded and efforts are on to clear them. The tourists were stranded following heavy snowfall on Sunday night. Deputy commissioner Anurag Chandra Sharma stated that approximately 1,500 vehicles were stranded near the South Portal of the Atal Tunnel on Sunday night due to sudden, heavy snowfall. Relief and rescue operations were immediately launched by teams from the district administration, the police, and the Border Roads Organisation. Operations between 1,100 and 1,200 vehicles were safely evacuated towards Manali by around 4 am. Additionally, 300 vehicles that remained stranded at South Portal were subsequently and safely dispatched towards Manali. Approximately 300 vehicles arriving from the Sissu side this morning are also being gradually and safely directed towards Manali, he said. He further stated that the additional superintendent of police (Kullu) and the DSP (Manali) were present at the site along with their respective teams. Furthermore, Major MS Parmar of the BRO is at the location with his team and efforts are underway to safely send all stranded vehicles towards Manali. "The vehicles stuck in the Rohtang tunnel have been removed while we are clearing the traffic now coming from Sissu. There are around 250 vehicles. The tourists were relocated to nearby hotels in the night itself. Owing to slippery conditions the traffic had been stopped," said Manali DSP KD Sharma. "There are no tourists stranded on Lahaul Spiti and we are ensuring that considering the road conditions, visiting tourists are redirected. The traffic is moving slowly owing to snow," shared deputy commissioner, Lahaul Spiti, Kiran Bhadana. Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu assured that the government would ensure the safety and comfort of tourists visiting Himachal Pradesh.. Meanwhile, around 40 tourists stranded at the Jalori Pass, due to snowfall, were also rescued, said officials. With the wet spell likely to continue in Himachal Pradesh in the coming few days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Shimla office has sounded an orange alert of heavy rain or snowfall in Chamba, Kangra and Kullu districts for March 19. Parts of Himachal continued to receive rain and snowfall on Monday. While rainfall was recorded in many areas on Monday, the higher reaches received light snowfall. Since Sunday evening, Khadrala recorded the highest snowfall at 10.2cm, followed by Kalpa and Gondhla. Significant rainfall was also reported across the state with Salooni (32 mm) and Sarahan (29.5 mm) recording the highest, while Shimla and Kufri witnessed lightning and hailstorms. A fresh Western Disturbance is likely to affect northwest India from March 17. In wake of snowfall, the district administration Kullu has decided that the vehicular movement from Nehru Kund towards the South Portal of Atal Tunnel and vice versa is strictly restricted. It was further instructed the police shall install a barrier at Nehru Kund (24x7) to restrict the movement of vehicles towards the south portal of Atal Tunnel, and also install a barrier at Solang Nallah (24x7). Emergency vehicles (Ambulance, Police, Fire Tenders, BRO) and local residents shall be allowed (only 4X4 vehicles)....