Leh-manali NH reopens for traffic
SHIMLA: Two days after heavy snowfall at the 13,050-ft Rohtang Pass, the strategic Leh-manali highway was reopened to traffic on Tuesday morning with the Kullu district administration advising tourists to avoid the snow-prone area.
More than 300 vehicles were stranded on the highway and passengers were taken to safer places after Rohtang Pass received 45cm of snowfall on Sunday.
Kullu superintendent of police Gaurav Singh said, “The road has now been cleared for vehicles but commuters are advised to avoid venturing to snow-prone areas.”
The meteorological department has issued an advisory of snowfall in the higher reaches and rainfall in middle and lower hills of Himachal Pradesh from November 6 to 8. State meteorological department director Manmohan Singh said, “An active western disturbance and its interaction with the cyclone currently over east central Arabian Sea are likely to cause light to moderate rainfall in the lower and middle hills and snowfall in higher altitudes. Heavy rain is forecast at isolated places in the state on November 7. This may cause traffic disruption between Manali and Leh. A fall in day temperature is expected.”
The maximum temperature in the hill stations of Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala and Dalhousie was 19.4°C, 17.4 degrees, 20.8 degrees and 15.6°C, while the minimum was 9.6, 2, 14 and 6.2°C, respectively, on Tuesday.
SNOW PREDICTED IN J&K, LADAKH
SRINAGAR:JAMMU and Kashmir is likely to receive snowfall in the next two days, which could help bring pollution down in neighbouring states.
“The snowfall accompanied by winds will bring down the particulate matter in the air to great extend,” Sonam Lotus, director of the J&K meteorological department, told IANS.
“The active western disturbance and its interaction with cyclone MAHA, currently located in East Central Arabian Sea, is likely to cause moderate to heavy snowfall and rain in plains of J&K, and Ladakh during November 6-8. The snowfall will peak in the night on November 7,” MET said in a statement.
Lotus said early snowfall in happening for the second year in succession in Kashmir. “It’s good for agriculture, but could damage standing crops,” he said.
The MET has alerted the J&K administration about the likely disruption in road transport, especially through passes, like Zojilla, and on the Srinagar-jammu-leh-manali Highway and Mughal road, due to landslides, low temperature and heavy snowfall. The Jammu-srinagar National Highway is the main link between Kashmir and the rest of the country.