Tourists head for HP after fresh snowfall

Snow experienced in Narkanda, Manali, Rohtang, Kullu, Kinnaur, Chamba and Lahaulspiti

SHIMLA:AFTER a fresh bout of snow in parts of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday, tourists from plains have started rushing to the hill state. Though heavy snowfall in higher reaches has intensified cold across the state, increasing bookings and queries have cheered up the tourism industry that eyes big profits.

Snowfall occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday at Narkanda, Manali, Rohtang and other tourist resorts in Himachal.

The Met department had predicted snow in advance, but hotels have seen rise in bookings only after the fresh snowfall.

Occupancy in hotels at Manali has seen an increase of 10% to 20% in the past two days.

Tourists are preferring Manali over Shimla as it did not snow in the capital town even as snowfall was recorded in other parts of district. However, hotels beyond Shimla towards Narkanda and Kufri have seen a marginal increase in occupancy.

In Manali, a large number of tourists have been arriving after heavy snowfall at Rohtang and surrounding areas.

“Tourist rush has increased and more tourists are expected in next few days,” said Manali Hotelier Association President Gajender Thakur. He added, “Tourists have been enquiring about accommodation. The occupancy at hotels in Manali has already reached 70%.”

In Shimla district, less number of tourists have reached Kufri and Narkanda since these places received a mild snowfall.

“Tourist arrival is more than that of the last week but not as per our expectations,” said Hari Das, a tourism business operator.

Jeet Ram, a taxi operator, said, “Tourists have been enquiring about snow and preferring Manali over Shimla and surrounding places.” Mandeep Singh, a tourist from Ludhiana, said, “Earlier we had planned to visit Shimla, but since more snowfall occurred in Manali region, we changed our plan.” Harjinder Kohli from Amritsar said, “We booked hotels online. We are hopeful that more snowfall will occur tomorrow in Manali town.”

Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation deputy general manager BS Chauhan said, “After snowfall, the enquiries have increased. The occupancy rate has gone up to 60% to 70%.”

FLIGHTS RESUME AT SRINAGAR AIRPORT

The flight operations to and fro Srinagar Airport resumed on Wednesday, after remaining suspended for first half of the day due to poor visibility caused by intermittent snowfall in Kashmir, officials said.

Earlier, 12 inbound and as many outbound flights had to be cancelled due to bad weather and poor visibility, according to an official of the Airports Authority of India.“flight operations at Srinagar International Airport resumed in the afternoon. We were able to operate 10 inbound and as many outbound flights,” the official added.

JAMMU-SRINAGAR HIGHWAY REMAINS CLOSED FOR THIRD DAY Meanwhile, the Jammu-srinagar national highway remained closed for the third consecutive day, even when the weather conditions improved across Jammu region, on Wednesday.

There were no fresh rains in the region since Tuesday morning.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP) national highway Sanjay Bhagat said snow clearance operations on either side of the Jawahar Tunnel are on.

He also informed that 80 vehicles in Ramban and 50 vehicles in Banihal were stranded since Tuesday.