Rains, snowfall lash Himachal

Several parts of Himachal Pradesh, including tourists spots like Manali, Narkanda and Kufri received fresh snowfall on Monday while Shimla and many other towns were lashed by intermittent rains, bringing back extreme cold conditions after a fortnight.

The entire tribal belt experienced heavy snowfall, disrupting road communication and power in towns like Reckong Peo, Kalpa, Keylong and Kaza. While Manali was wrapped in a thick blanket of snow, Kharapathar in Shimla received more than one feet of snow, snapping road communication with Rohru.

As predicted by the local meteorological department, snowfall started a little after midnight. "The intensity of the snowfall was quite high in the early morning hours. Some roads, from where snow had been cleared, was again blocked," said Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner Capt J M Pathania. The district headquarter had received 35 to 40 cm of snow till afternoon.

On Monday, the Met office issued a fresh warning asking tourists not to venture into the high hills as there were chances of road cave-ins and landslides in certain areas of Shimla, Kinnaur, Chamba, Kullu, Kangra and Lahaul and Spiti till February 6. It has also forecast more rain and snowfall for the next 48 hours.

The sprawling Dhauladhar and Churdhar ranges in Kangra, along with Sirmaur, Rohtang, Kunzam, Saach and Chansel passes are covered under 75 to 100 centimetres of snow, said reports. While Keylong and Kalpa recorded 35 to 40 cm of snowfall till this afternoon, Udaipur, Sangla, Chitkul, Saach and Darcha recorded 65, 45, 50, 55 and 60 cm of snow respectively.

Manali, on the other hand, recorded 45 cm of snow till afternoon while Narkanda and Kufri, Dalhousie and Dharamkot (Kangra) had 40, 30, 20 and 35 cm of snowfall respectively. Intermittent rains and sleet also brought the mercury down in Shimla, which received 107 millimetres of rainfall, followed by Seobagh (65 mm), Salooni (64 mm), Dharmsala (58 mm) and Jogindernagar, Palampur and Bhuntar (42 mm) each.

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