ROHTANG PASS CLOSED TILL MARCH
As lower reaches of Himachal experienced light rainfall, the 13,500feet pass, which received two feet of snow, has been closed till March; Jammu and Kashmir’s Mughal Road, SrinagarLeh highway has been shut for vehicles as bad weather hampered clearance
SHIMLA : With a fresh bout of snowfall in the upper reaches of the region, the 13,500-ft high Rohtang Pass — also called gateway to Tribal Lahaul Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh — has been officially closed for the vehicular traffic till March 2018.
The pass has received 2ft of snow while other parts of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Kullu and Shimla have experienced light to moderate snow. Other parts of mid and lower reaches were also lashed with light rainfall on Sunday. In Shimla district, 1-2 inch of snowfall was recorded at Hatu peak and surrounding areas. Several parts in Lahaul and Spiti have also received 5-10 inches of snow in the past 12 hours.
The recent spell of snowfall and rains lowered the temperature across the state as Shimla was recorded minimum with 7.2 degree C. Manali was recorded minimum with 3.8 degree C and Dharamsala was at 8.4 degree C.
Keylong was the coldest in Himachal with -0.4 degrees C while Kalpa recorded its minimum temperature at zero degree C.
“The night temperature is 4 to 5 degrees below the normal,” said Shimla meteorological centre director Manmohan Singh.
The fresh snowfall has elated farmers in HP as well.
The reports of snowfall in the higher reaches of Manali has come as a joy for the tourists.
Amir Khan, a tourist from Odisha, who reached Manali’s Solang valley said, “We had planned to visit Solang tomorrow but after reports of snowfall, we amended our programme.”
A travel business operator, Satinder Thakur, said, “There was less occupancy in Manali’s hotels but after the MeT prediction, inquiries have been poring in,” and added that he was expecting increase in tourist influx.
In Shimla district, tourist influx is also expected to rise after fresh spell of snow at Hatu and other areas near Narkanda, 70km from Shimla.
Farmers, especially apple growers, have heaved a sigh of relief after light rains.
“Such weather is must for apples and temperature these days is favourable for us,” said Harsh Mehta, a farmer from Kotgarh.
FORECAST
Rains and snow are expected in the next 24 hours. Manmohan Singh said, “Weather will remain dry between November 20 and November 23 but will change thereafter.”
FRESH SPELL OF SNOW IN J&K
High-altitude areas in the Jammu and Kashmir regions witnessed heavy snowfall which led to closure of the Mughal Road and the Srinagar-Leh highway for vehicular traffic.
The ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir received fresh snowfall of two inches on Friday night while the day temperature in Jammu dipped by six degrees below normal, meteorological officials said.
Officials in Jammu said around two feet of snow had accumulated on the ground between Peer Ki Gali and Pushana, a 20-km stretch along the Mughal Road connecting Poonch district with south Kashmir’s Shopian district.
The road, the alternative link between Kashmir and rest of the country, was closed after the season’s first heavy snowfall in the Jammu region.
“No vehicle was allowed either from Poonch or Shopian this morning as the Mughal Road was temporarily closed for traffic due to heavy snowfall,” deputy superintendent of police, traffic, Mohammad Aslam said.
“The agencies concerned are ready for road clearance operation, but bad weather is hampering their efforts,” the officer said, adding no vehicle was stranded on the road.
Both day and night temperatures plummeted in most parts of Jammu region over the past few days with the city recording a low of 11.2 degrees Celsius, a MeT office spokesperson said.
Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of 2.9 degrees Celsius, and Leh, in Ladakh region, minus 6.4 degrees Celsius, MeT officials said.
Kargil town recorded a low of minus 6 degrees Celsius. Gulmarg, which recorded the season’s lowest of minus 5.6 degrees Celsius last night, saw temperatures drop to minus 3.8 degrees today, the official said.