Following snowfall, 275 roads closed for movement of traffic

Light to moderate snowfall and rain has been recorded across the state since Tuesday evening. Apart from the higher reaches, light to moderate snowfall has been recorded at some places in the districts of Kullu, Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba, Kinnaur and Shimla. Tourist destinations like Manali, Narkanda and Kufri also recorded a few centimetres of snowfall. Shimla recorded intermittent rainfall and hail on Tuesday night. In most parts of the state, light to moderate rainfall has been recorded.

Advertisement

As per the State Disaster Management Authority officials, 275 roads, including three national highways have been obstructed. Besides, 55 water schemes and 291 power distributions transformers have also been disrupted. Due to the snowfall, the roads in upper Shimla had become quite slippery and the traffic was obstructed in early hours of the morning. Later, as the snow melted, normal traffic was restored. In Kinnaur, light snowfall was recorded in Chitkul and Rakchham, but the traffic remained largely unobstructed in the district.

“The western disturbance hit our region on Tuesday evening, resulting in good snowfall and rain in the state. Thunderstorm and lightening have also been reported,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, Director of Meteorological Centre, Shimla. “From tomorrow, the weather will clear up,” he said. The Director added that the upcoming western disturbances in this month are likely to be feeble, and hence the precipitation is likely to be less than normal this month.

The light precipitation has failed to cheer up apple growers who had been anxiously waiting for a good spell of precipitation. With January recording 84 per cent less than normal precipitation, the growers are desperately looking for a significant spell of precipitation. “There has been hardly any snowfall. It hasn’t helped at all. The lack of snowfall has become a big challenge for apple growers. Plants will go into stress and the sapling will dry up,” said Harish Chauhan, an orchardist from Rohru.

As per the Met office said Gondla received 11 cm of snow, followed by Keylong (9 cm), Kukumseri (8.3 cm), Bharmour (8 cm), Manali (7.4 cm), Jot (6 cm), Kalpa (7.3 cm), and Shillaroo and Khadrala (5 cm each). Meanwhile, Shimla town received sleet and adjoining Kufri received 4 cm of snow.

Saloni was the wettest place in the state, receiving 44.3 mm rainfall, followed by Kasol (30 mm), Karsog (24.3 mm), Bhuntar (21.4 mm), Jogindernagar (19 mm), Banjar (18.2 mm), Shimla (16.2 mm) and Gohar (16 mm).