300 tourists stuck in Kufri rescued

SHIMLA: Nearly 300 tourists were rescued by police and the district administration in an overnight operation when 200 vehicles got stuck in Kufri, 14 km from Shimla, after snowfall on Thursday night.

The passengers were stranded as vehicles were stuck when roads became slippery.

Seven Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) buses, a private bus, taxis and other vehicles were escorted from Kufri to Dhalli and Shimla along with passengers. The rescue operation concluded at 1am on Friday.

Shimla superintendent of police Omapati Jamwal said, “Road clearance work is going on the Dhalli-fagu stretch. All are advised not to use this road. The Mashobra road is open for traffic.”

Light to moderate snowfall and rainfall occurred at various places across Himachal Pradesh.

Khadrala in Shimla district received 15.2cm of snowfall, while Janjheli in Mandi district got 8cm, Theog received 7cm and Sarahan received 2cm of snowfall.

At least 24.4 mm of rainfall was recorded at Naina Devi in Bilaspur district, 17.5mm in Rampur Bushahr and 4.5mm at Jubbal.

State meteorological department director Manmohan Singh said, “Due to a fresh western disturbance, the snowfall and rainfall are likely to continue till January 21.”

Shimla a minimum of 0.6 degree Celsius, while Manali recorded a low of 0.2 degrees.

Dharamshala in Kangra district and Dalhousie in Chamba district recorded lows of 4.8 and -0.8 degree Celsius, respectively.

Kufri shivered at -1.8 degrees, while Kalpa in Kinnaur district witnessed -4.2 degrees as the minimum temperature.

Keylong in Lahaul-spiti district was the coldest place in the state at a low of -10.3 degrees, while Una was the warmest with a high of 18 degrees Celsius.