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Shimla receives fresh snowfall

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<p>Tourists enjoy fresh snowfall in Shimla on Wednesday. Photo: Amit Kanwar</p>
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Tribune Reporters

Shimla, January 14

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While the capital city wore a white blanket today for the second time, transport and traffic service to upper Shimla and tribal areas of Kinnaur came to a standstill as these areas were cut off due to light to moderate snowfall.
The hill stations of Kufri, Narkanda, Kharapathar, Khirki in Chopa, Chirdhar, Baghi Kahdrala and Chanshal have been experiencing light to moderate snowfall since morning, cutting off the areas from Shimla.

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The Jhakhoo Hill, The Ridge, Sanjauli and Mashobra experienced light snowfall in the afternoon. Traffic to Kufri was disrupted due to snowfall and HRTC buses were suspended in the late afternoon, said officials.
Charki-Khirki experienced about 1 ft fresh snow today, said Deepak Kumar, a resident of the area.

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The HRTC bus services were suspended beyond Deha in Chopal.

Sangla experienced 1.6 ft fresh snow today and it was snowing till reports came in. Same was the case with Reckong Peo and Kalpa and upper Kinnaur, said Surinder Kumar, a resident of Sangla. Traffic was closed here, he told The Tribune on phone.

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Dr Manmohan Singh, Director, Meteorological office, Shimla, said Lahaul-Spiti received more than 1 ft snow, Narkanda and Kharapathar received more than 30 cm snow. The highest snowfall was reported from the Sangla valley in Kinnaur.

Bharmaur in Chamba district recorded more than 16 cm snow and so was the case with Pangi. The minimum temperature dropped sharply by about 7° C in the Shimla region, said Met officials.

The gateway of Lahaul-Spiti, 13,050-ft-high Rohtang Pass, has been experiencing snowfall since the last night. Upper Manali areas also received more than 22 cm snow and Manali town received light rain and snow, officials stated.

Dinesh Malhotra, DC, Shimla, said three JCBs were on the job on the Rohru road and two JCBs on the Chopal where bus services had been suspended due to snowfall. Traffic had been diverted via Basantpur and Dhami on Hindustan Tibet National Highway.

Dharamsala in Kangra and Saloni in Chamba had 13 mm rain each, Gaggal in Kangra 11 mm, Baijnath, Rajgarh of Sirmaur 9 mm each, Mehre in Kangra and Seobagh in Kullu 8 mm each, Nagrota Suriyan in Kangra 7 mm, Sarahan in Shimla and Amb in Una 6 mm each.

Minimum temperature stayed under freezing point as Keylong recorded -2°C, Dalhousie and Kalpa -1°C each and Manali 0.8°C.

Manmohan said weather would get better tomorrow in lower and mid hills, while it could be cloudy or receive light snow in the higher hills.
Maximum temperatures decreased by 7 to 9°C during the last 24 hours. Highest temperature recorded was at Una at 13°C.

Naddi, McLeodganj wear white mantle
Dharamsala: Heavy snow lashed Naddi, McLeodganj and Bhagsunag near Dharamsala today. This was the first snowfall at the hill stations this season.

Tourists and locals rushed to Naddi after news of snowfall reached Dharamsala. A small village, Naddi wore a white mantle and people were found playing with snow, which brought cheer to hoteliers and other stakeholders of the tourism industry, hoping it would attract tourists from lower areas in the coming days.
Vehicles remained stranded on the roads to Naddi and Dharamsala for a few hours due to the deposition of snow. The Dharamsala Municipal Council, under which the hill stations fall, does not have any machinery to tackle with the deposition of snow.

Snow and rain in the Kangra valley also brought down temperature in the region considerably.
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh also cancelled most of his programmes in Dharamsala today due to bad weather.

Incessant rain lowers temperature in Kullu
Kullu: The incessant rain throughout the day, accompanied by intermittent snowfall in the higher reaches of the district, lowered the temperature further and increased the chill in the entire Kullu valley.

A fresh layer of snow added to the scenic view of Manali. The town experienced mild snowfall in the morning and afternoon while around 15 cm of snow was reported at Solang Nala. However, the snow was washed away with rain.

The mercury remained below freezing point in Manali at -0.8°C and Kullu at 7°C. While most residents remained indoors, a few enthusiastic tourists enjoyed the snow.

Chamba high hills get heavy snowfall
Chamba: The high hills of the district and the Bharmour and Pangi tribal areas experienced heavy snowfall since last night, according to reports that poured in from Chamba.

The icy cold winds swept the lower areas, confining residents to their homes. The reports said heavy snow was beneficial for the apple plants. At the same time, the rain was also useful for the rabi crops, the experts believed.
The reports stated that heavy snowfall on the high mountains was also beneficial for the optimal power generation during summers as the Ravi and its tributaries were snow fed.

Seraj, Kamrunag valleys receive mild snowfall
Mandi:  High-altitude areas in the district witnessed mild snowfall today while the lower areas received mild rainfall.
Some high peaks in the district are already covered with snow.

Reports said Garagusaini, Thachi and Shikara Devi in Seraj valley and several areas in Kamrunag valley experienced snowfall. Despite snowfall in Ruhanda Chowki and Pandar areas, no road blockade was reported on the Mandi-Karsog-Shimla road.

It may be noted that several roads were blocked and power and water supply to many areas of the district were snapped after the snowfall on December 13-14, 2014. The administration took weeks to restore power and water supply and clear the roads of the snow. Also, scores of buses of the Himachal Roadway were stuck in snow in different parts of the district.

Kangra receives rain, flight cancelled
Kangra: Rain lashed the Kangra valley and the Dhauladhar range, upper Dharamsala, Naddi, Dal Lake and Bhagsunag received fresh snowfall, dropping down the temperature considerably and adding to the severe chill. Life was put out of gear as most of the people preferred to remain indoors due to chilly weather.
Reports of rain were also received from Shahpur, Dhraman, Mallan, Palampur, Nagrota Bagwan, Icchhi, Gaggal, Ranital and McLeodganj, Dehra and Dharamsala.  The Delhi-Kangra air flight of the Spicejet was cancelled due to bad weather today. This was stated by KK Sharma Director Kangra airport said.

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