Roads to Manali, Solang blocked, Jalori Pass shut again

MANDI: The heavy snowfall hit the normal life in Lahaul Spiti, which received over 30 cm snow this evening. It had been snowing since Monday evening, disrupting the power supply in the district. The water flow in Thirot project receded drastically, impacting the power supply.

Vehicles covered with heavy snow in Manali. Photo: Jai Kumar

Dipender Manta

Tribune News Service

Mandi, January 22

The heavy snowfall hit the normal life in Lahaul Spiti, which received over 30 cm snow this evening. It had been snowing since Monday evening, disrupting the power supply in the district. The water flow in Thirot project receded drastically, impacting the power supply.

The telecommunication service and power supply was erratic in Keylong, while in villages, the situation was worse. Water pipes had frozen, which forced the tribals to melt snow to meet the demand of water for domestic use.

According to locals, snowfall was continuing in the region till the filing of the report and traffic was standstill. Keylong and Udaipur had 30 cm snow while Koksar witnessed over 90 cm snow, forcing the tribals to stay indoor.

Sanjiv Kumar, a resident of Lahaul, said due to heavy snow, the normal life had been hit adversely, affecting the power supply in remote villages. The temperature plummeted drastically and all routes in the district were blocked. Emergency flights had been suspended.

In Kullu district, the Jalori Pass was closed to traffic again, disconnecting 58 gram panchayats of Anni and Nirmand blocks from Kullu. The PWD restored the pass to commuters yesterday after 15 days. The pass received more than 60 cm snowfall in the region. The heavy snow had blocked the Kullu-Manali highway at green barriers near Patlikuhl. The main tourist hotspots like Solang and Gulaba received more than 60 cm snowfall. The road to Malana was also blocked.

Regional Manager, HRTC, DK Narang said, “We have suspended services on a few routes. Buses are not reaching Manali.” In Mandi district, most routes in the Seraj valley were cut off. Similarly, a few routes were affected in the Karsog valley. The lower parts of Mandi district had received incessant rain since Monday evening, while the higher reaches Shikari Devi, Kamrunag and Prashar lake received heavy snowfall. Due to heavy snowfall, power supply was disrupted in remote villages of Mandi, Kullu and Lahaul Spiti.