Fresh snowfall in Himachal snaps over 500 road links
TOURISTS THRONG SHIMLA Avalanche alert in Kinnaur, upper areas of Manali and Pangi subdivision of Chamba; MET predicts snowfall on January 30; Keylong coldest at -17 °C
SHIMLA : Eight districts of Himachal Pradesh witnesssed heavy to moderate snowfall on Sunday, snapping roads links across various regions. The inclement weather has further intensified the cold wave condition in the state.
The higher reaches of Kullu, Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Chamba, Mandi, Shimla, Kangra and Sirmaur have been receiving snow since Saturday night. The tourist areas of Shimla, Dalhousie, Manali, Kufri, Narkanda, Fagu and Charabra saw a thick layer of snow on Sunday. Shimla experienced 5cm of snow with night temperature dropping to -0.2 °C. The hotels were packed to capacity as tourists thronged Shimla and nearby resorts to experience snowfall.
“It took two hours for me to cover 13km between Kufri and Shimla on Saturday due to traffic mismanagement and slippery road conditions,” Himkiran Manta, a resident of Shimla said.
Although the Shimla Municipal Corporation has cleared the snow on Cart Road and some VIP roads, most of the other roads have not been cleared yet.tourists have been facing much difficulty in Shimla and Manali as most of the parking lots are slippery and covered with snow.the residents have been holding the tourists responsible for most of the traffic jams.
“Since the tourists are not adaptive to driving vehicles on snow-laden roads, they often create unnecessary traffic jams by getting their vehicles struck,” he said.manta, along with his family, was held up in Rohru, some 120 km from here, for the past five days after closure of road links due to snowfall.
Shimla deputy commissioner Amit Kashyap has asked tourists to avoid travelling in their vehicles beyond Shimla as the road is slippery after the snowfall.
“We are advising the motorists, especially the tourists, to park their vehicles at Dhalli and use public transport to reach Kufri and its nearby destinations,” he said. An avalanche alert has been declared in higher reaches, mainly in Kinnaur, upper areas in Manali and Pangi subdivision of Chamba which experienced heavy snowfall.the Met Office has forecast more snowfall across the state, including Shimla , Chamba, Lahaulspiti, Kullu and Kinnaur districts, on January 30.
Over 500 roads in different parts of the state were closed after snowfall during the past three days. Over 205 machines and nearly 2,000 people have been deputed to clear these roads. “78 roads will be cleared by Sunday while 216 other will be re-opened by January 28,” an official spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the minimum temperature in Manali was -5 °C, followed by -4.2 °C in Kufri of Shimla district, -1.5 °C in Dalhousie of Chamba district and -0.2 °C in Shimla, said Manmohan Singh, director MET Centre Shimla. Keylong continued to be the coldest place with -17 °C . The minimum temperature in Kalpa was -5.2 °C, Singh added.