Bhanu P Lohumi
Tribune News Service
Shimla, November 16
Several areas of Manali, Upper Shimla and Kinnaur districts were cut off and connecting roads closed as Sangla, Kufri, Narkanda, Kharaptthar and other higher hills received the first snow of the season.
Heavy rains hit the middle and lower hills breaking a two-month dry streak.
The key tourist destinations Sangla, Narkanda, Khadrala, Kharaptthar and Shillaru and Kufri were covered with 25 cm, 20 cm, 19 cm, 18 cm, 15 cm, 12 cm and 10 cm of snow.
Roads were closed in Khadrala and telecommunications services were interrupted in the Jubbal area.
Deputy Commissioner Shimla Aditya Negi said JCBs and machinery have been deployed to vulnerable spots and roads are being cleared.
Snow and rain brought cheers to farmers as the prolonged drought had affected the planting of Rabi’s crops, especially corn, cauliflower and cabbage crops, and the delayed rains could have a fatal fate.
Hoteliers are optimistic and hope that the first snowfall will attract tourists and encourage the revival of an industry that suffered huge losses due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
This was the first snowfall of the season that froze Manali, Kufri, Narkanda, Kala Top and Kharapathar.
The hills overlooking Manali also experienced moderate episodes of snow, an official from the meteorological office here told IANS.
He said that scenic Kalpa, about 250 km from here, also experienced snow.
“The high-altitude areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba, Mandi, Kullu and Kinnaur districts have been experiencing snow since Sunday,” he added.
“As news of the snowfall spreads across the plains, tourists will begin to arrive in Manali and the nearby hills, and in Kufri, just 15 km uphill from Shimla and Narkanda,” say the hoteliers.
The mountain peaks seen from Shimla and the Dhauladhar peaks that dominate the official palace of the Tibetan Buddhist leader Dalai Lama at McLeodganj near Dharamsala were also covered by a white blanket.
The other mountainous destinations of Dharamsala, Nahan, Chamba, Dalhousie and Mandi received rains.
The Met Office said the western disturbance, a storm system originating from the Mediterranean and Caspian Sea region and moving through the Afghanistan and Pakistan region, will begin to subside in the region as of Tuesday.
– with IANS
