Less snowfall worries locals

Ajay Ramola

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Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, December 13

“We are receiving less number snow spells during the winter in Mussoorie every year.” This is the common response of local residents when asked about the major change that has taken place in the town.

Town residents were disappointed last year due to scanty snowfall during the winter, barring January 18 when it snowed heavily. Tourists and residents were dejected last year as it did not snow to their liking during the winter, says Ramesh Jaiswal, a local resident.

Frustration increases when television channels state that the higher reaches of Uttarkashi, Yamunotri, and Gangotri have received moderate to heavy snowfall during the winter, while the town receives either hail or heavy rain, says Ravinder Singh, another local resident. Satwinder Kaur, a tourist from Punjab, who is here on three-day trip, says they extended their stay in hope of snowfall yesterday but were disappointed. “Last year also it was the same and I wonder why it is not snowing in Mussoorie,” adds Satwinder.

Another tourist Rajiv Malhotra says they have found more luck with snow at Dhanaulti than in Mussoorie on previous occasions. The business community that is expecting snowfall and hoping to do a brisk business is also disappointed with no snowfall this year so far. Local residents attribute less snowfall in the town to rampant construction and urbanization. The depleting forest cover in the town could be another reason for less snowfall, adds another resident.

Local historian Gopal Bhardwaj says instances of snowfall have reduced not only in Mussoorie but also in other parts of the state. The area of Yamunotri used to witness more than 30 feet of snow, according to the British records.

Even Mussoorie has witnessed more than 10 feet of snow in the past, says Sewa Ram, a senior citizen.

Famous story writer Ruskin Bond in his book, “A town called Dehra” mentions that Dehradun had witnessed heavy snowfall on January 2, 1945, but now it does not snow there”. Environmentalists say it is a natural phenomenon and in some years there could be more snowfall depending on the climatic behaviour of the region. They say Mussoorie usually receives snowfall in January. They disagree with the argument that Mussoorie is receiving less snowfall due to rampant urbanisation and say much is dependent on the weather pattern.

This year, with the mercury plummeting to the freezing level in December, the hope of a white Christmas has risen. People believe they would witness more spells of snow during the winter this year and this uplifts the sagging mood of local residents.

Sunil Arora, owner of Cambridge Book Depot, says they had witnessed heavy snowfall in 1972 and 2000 and they had to walk all the way to the Mussoorie lake. Now, the frequency of snowfall during the winter is limited only to January.