More snow cuts off upper Shimla areas

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 13

Shimla continued to experience more snowfall on the second day on Tuesday, while lower hills across the state were lashed by rain, bringing the temperature down by several notches.

Towns in upper Shimla district remained cut off as snow got piled up on roads. Tourist spots near Shimla such as Kufri, Fagu and Narkanda also experienced snow.

Although a fresh spell of snow and rain have brought cheers to farmers, especially apple growers, tourists and local commuters faced a harrowing time today. They remained stuck at different locations on the Kufri-Wildflower Hall route for nearly three hours this afternoon.

Chopal, Jubbal and Rohru in upper Shimla remained cut off from the state capital. Power supply to parts of Chopal, Sungri and Dodra Kuar and parts of upper Jubbal and Deorighat was snapped after transmission lines developed fault.

Residents of upper Shimla said fresh snow had disrupted normal life. Long traffic jams were witnessed at several places. The HRTC bus service to Chopal, Nerwa, Rohru, Jubbal and Narkanda and Kotgarh has been suspended. Roads at Narkanda, Kharapathar, Chambi-Khirki and Chharki in upper Shimla also remained blocked.

“We remained stranded at Kufri and Fagu for three hours due to fresh snow,” said Amit and Rohit, local residents.

A bus got stuck in a drain near Charabara, leading to over one-hour traffic jam in the afternoon. HRTC divisional manager Avatar Singh said the HRTC had suspended the bus service to Chopal and Nerwa. He said roads were blocked at Kufri and Narkanda and buses could not ply beyond Matiana.

According to information, Khirki in the Chopal subdivision has received more than two feet of snow in the last 24 hours. “Traffic was blocked at Deha, 25 km from Chopal. Ambulances and other vehicles carrying patients were diverted via Haripurdhar, forcing these to cover more than 300 km to reach Shimla,” said Sandeep Kumar, a local resident.

Vehicular movement beyond Kotkhai on the Theog-Rohru highway has also been restricted. The HRTC plied buses on the route till Kotkhai in the morning, but roads in Kufri were blocked after that.

Rampur and Kinnaur-bound vehicles were diverted via Dhami as the Basantpur and Narkanda roads remained blocked.

The Public Works Department (PWD) had pressed into service JCB machines and dozers to clear the snow. “The weather will clear by tomorrow. Buses on all blocked routes will be restored in a couple of days”, said PWD engineers.

Meanwhile, cold wave swept across the state with Shimla recording under zero degree temperature. The Met office has forecast rain and snow in parts of mid and higher in the next 24 hours. However, the weather is expected to remain clear in the lower and middle hills.

Sundernagar today recorded 36.3 mm of rain, Palampur 33.8 mm, Chamba 33 mm, Mandi 32 mm, Dharmsala 28.4 mm, Una 21.8 mm, Bilaspur and Hamirpur 20 mm, Dalhousie 19 mm, Bhuntar 17.8 mm, Jubberhati 18 mm, Kangra 16 mm and Manali 16 mm. Keylong was the coldest with the minimum temperature recorded at -6 degree Celsius, Kalpa minus 2.2 degrees, Dalhousie minus 1.7 degrees, Manali one degree C, Kufri minus 2.8 degrees and Chail minus 0.1 degrees.

Tourists throng Nehru Kund 

Intense cold wave sweeping the upper Kullu valley further tightened its grip as the entire higher reaches and upper Manali region experienced a fresh spell of snowfall on Tuesday. The entire upper Manali region was covered with a white blanket. The sun appeared in the afternoon providing local residents and tourists some relief from the cold wave. The vehicular traffic on the Manali- Rohtang Road was disrupted due to fresh spell of snowfall at several places beyond Nehru Kund, about 5 km from here. Hundreds of tourists, who have arrived in Manali from across the country, rushed to Bahang and Nehru Kund where there was enough snow. OC

Season’s first in Upper Dharamsala

Dharamsala: Upper areas of Dharamsala received first snowfall of the season in the early hours on Tuesday. The Naddi area received snowfall. Other areas which received snowfall include Gallu and trekking paradise Triund. The snowfall kindled hope of hoteliers of a better tourist inflow. Sanjeev Gandhi, general secretary of Upper Dharamsala Hoteliers Association, said, “Now that the area has received snowfall we expect the tourist inflow to increase”, he said. While the upper area of Dharamsala received snowfall, the lower regions received heavy rainfall. TNS

White blanket over Bharmour 

Bharmour: The tribal terrains of Bharmour and its mountain ranges received slowfall on Monday evening. The 3-MW Holi powerhouse with 2 units of 1.5 MW each located at the Holi village in Bharmour subdivision of Chamba district has also been covered with snow. The powerhouse envisages utilisation of Holi nallah, a tributary of the Ravi river.  Intense cold wave conditions prevailed in the lower areas of the district and the people of the area had been confined to their houses. Link roads are also covered under snow. OC

Mild snow in Dalhousie town

Dalhousie: After a long break, Dalhousie received mild snowfall on Monday evening. The snowfall has brought cheers to those related to the tourism industry. Local hoteliers are hopeful of huge rush of tourists to the hill station in the ensuing summer. “This weekend, we are expecting a spike in footfall of tourists in Dalhousie and nearby hills after this snowfall," said a guide. OC

Commuters stuck, power supply hit 

• Some tourists and local commuters remained stuck at different locations on the Kufri-Wildflower Hall route for nearly three hours on Tuesday afternoon
• Power supply to parts of Chopal, Sungri and Dodra Kuar and parts of upper Jubbal and Deorighat  was snapped after transmission lines developed fault
• The HRTC bus service to Chopal, Nerwa, Rohru, Jubbal and Narkanda and Kotgarh has been suspended for the time being
• Vehicular movement beyond Kotkhai on the Theog-Rohru highway has also been restricted 
• Rampur and Kinnaur-bound vehicles were diverted via Dhami as the Basantpur and Narkanda roads remained blocked