Rain, snow continue

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 3

Uttarakhand continued to reel under cold wave conditions today following fresh snowfall in higher reaches and rain in the plains of the state.

However, the sunny weather in the morning today brought some relief to residents of Dehradun and plains of the state from cold conditions though icy cold winds swept the region, causing the temperature to fall by a few notches. Rain in the afternoon compounded the misery of Dehradun residents

State Meteorological Centre Director Anand Sharma has forecast light rain and snow at isolated places, especially in Uttarkashi, Chamoli and Pithoragarh districts and a dry weather in the rest of Uttarakhand.

He said rain in low-lying areas and snowfall in higher reaches of the state was being experienced due to western disturbances. The weather was likely to improve from tomorrow, he added. The rain and snowfall in upper reaches have brought down temperatures considerably in the state. The weatherman recorded the minimum temperature of 20.4°C and the maximum temperature of 8.7°C.

The people, who had gradually given up warm clothes due to the receding winter, were forced to wear woollen clothes as the temperature plummeted across the state. Vehicular movement was disrupted following mudslides in hill areas.

IG, Garhwal Range, Sanjay Gunjiyal has instructed SSPs of all seven districts of the range to remain alert for another 48 hours, especially in disaster-prone areas of the state. He instructed them to assist the civil administration to carry out rescue operations in case of any natural calamity in any part of the state.