The Ghost of Gata Loops

We come across many strange things during our travels. While going from Sarchu to Manali, Gata Loops are a delight to the shutterbugs. These are 21 nos. Of hairpin bends on Leh-Manali highway. While I was busy clicking photos of the loops & beautiful scenery around, my eyes stumbled upon a pile of garbage especially water bottles. This was a pitiful sight

.So I asked our driver Rajubhai about it. Initially he became serious & then started unfolding a mysterious story. As his narration goes, “Few years back a truck driver & his cleaner were driving on Manali-Leh highway. The truck was full of some valuable cargo. They had a fixed time target to reach Leh. So in spite of bad weather they started from Manali. Unfortunately the truck broke down at Gata Loops. The driver told the cleaner to remain in the truck for the safety of cargo & started to nearby village for help. Meanwhile the weather conditions became worse. All the passes on both the directions were closed for traffic due to heavy snowfall. The driver went ahead. At last he reached to one of the far distant tiny village. The driver had to stay in the village due to bad weather. After a week the driver returned with the villagers at the loops. They found the decomposed body of the cleaner in the truck. The cleaner had died due to thirst, hunger & cold exposure. They buried the poor guy near the same loop. Then an urban legend started spreading. The commuters driving on the Gata Loops started seeing a beggar pleading for water. Those refusing & not stopping experienced strange things like accidents, AMS etc. The word spread from Manali to Leh. At last locals constructed a small memorial near the same loop. It became a ritual among the regular drivers to throw water bottles at the memorial. When we were near the end of the loops, we saw an accident of a poclain machine. I took photos of it & started wondering whether the driver had offered the water to The Ghost of Gala Loops or not.