No end to misery as roads, power supply still hit

Tribune News Service

Mandi, February 10

Life is limping back to normal after heavy snowfall in Mandi and Kullu districts. Power supply had been snapped and roads blocked since Wednesday in the two districts.

The PWD and the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB) authorities are struggling hard to restore power supply in remote areas of Mandi and Kullu districts.

  Till Saturday evening, the HPSEB authorities repaired 990 transformers in Mandi and Kullu districts, while 1,375 transformers are still non-functional in Mandi, Kullu and Lahaul and Spiti districts.   Pravesh Thakur, Chief Engineer, HPSEB, Mandi Zone, said that they were facing difficulty in Lahaul and Spiti district due to a threat of avalanche. The entire Lahaul valley had been reeling under darkness since Wednesday. He said that all roads in Lahaul valley were blocked because of snow.   In Kullu district, power supply was restored in Manali and Sainj valley, while efforts were on to restore it in the Gada Gushaini area of the Banjar valley.

  “In Mandi district, power supply has been restored up to Thunag and efforts are on to restore it up to Janjehli in Seraj Assembly segment. A few areas of Barot valley are still under darkness,” he said.

  Thakur said the remaining 1,375 transformers would be repaired in a few days. Superintending Engineer, PWD, Mandi, Prakash Verma said 11 roads had been restored in Mandi district and two roads in Kullu district.

  He said that workforce and machinery had been deployed to restore the roads. 

Avalanche alert in Lahaul

Lahaul and Spiti Deputy Commissioner Ashwani Kumar Chaudhari issued a warning to the residents of the Lahaul valley to remain indoors in next few days as there was a threat of avalanche.   

Five tourists rescued

The police rescued five tourists from Prashar Lake in Mandi district. The tourists were trapped in the area because of heavy snow on Friday evening.