Snow continues,many areas in Himachal cut off

Public Works Minister Gulab Singh Thakur visited Manali to oversee the operations to restore road links.

A man and a woman,both yet to be identified,lost their lives at Wangtoo in Kinnaur district on Tuesday after heavy rain and snow triggered a landslide,said Kinnaur MLA Tejwant Negi. The road leading to Kinnaur was blocked at Wangtoo and at Jhakhri near Rampur. Reckong Peo in Kinnaur received about 1.5 feet snow on Tuesday.    

Incessant snow and rain disrupted power supply across the state. Kullu,Manali,Kinnaur,many parts of Shimla district,including the state capital,went without electricity for long hours. Manali and Kinnaur have been without power for the last three and two days,respectively. There has been no power in the villages of upper Shimla.

Officials of the power department said their field staff were braving the adverse weather conditions to restore the power supply. The supply was partially restored at some places.

Due to the continuing cold conditions — the maximum temperature remained below 6 degrees Celsius— and the power cut,Kendriya Vidyalaya in Shimla has suspended classes for the next four days.      

Pangi valley of Chamba district has been witnessing heavy snowfall continuously since February 6.

Resident Commissioner,Pangi,Gopal Chand said: “All connecting roads are under nearly 6 feet of snow and it is still snowing. Efforts are on to open the main link roads.”  

A high-velocity snowstorm moving at 40 to 50 kilometres per hour hit the Lahaul-Spiti valley on Monday night. “The threat of an avalanche has increased and people have been asked to remain indoors,” said Lahaul-Spiti Deputy Commissioner Ritesh Chauhan.

Nearly 35 people deputed at a couple of government installations at Udaipur tehsil headquarter,which is prone to avalanches,have been shifted to safer places.

The Hindustan-Tibet National Highway-22 is blocked at many places.