Moderate to heavy snowfall has taken place in the past couple of days in Himachal Pradesh’s resort towns of Shimla, Kufri, Narkanda, Chail, Manali, Dharamsala, Chamba and Dalhousie even as freak snowfall fell in the lower hills of the state after over half a century .
Dharamsala and Chamba towns have received record breaking snowfall of upto 2 feet, while Mcleodgunj the seat of the Dalai Lama adjoining Dharmasala has received upto 3 feet of snowfall completely paralysing life here.
Residents of the temple towns of Chintpuri, Jwalaji and Kangra were shocked by the snowfall and sleet. The popular pilgrimage centre of Chintpurni saw snow after 1946. Nurpur had snow after 45 years. Shahpur and parts of Hamirpur among other places also experienced snowfall and sleet after many decades. The snowfall was 2 to 6 inches in these places shocking locals.
“I saw snow in Chintpurni last as a 14-year-old bride and am seeing it now after 76 years,” said Savitri Devi, a 90-year-old woman in Chintpurni.
The tribal mountainous district of Kinnaur has recorded over 2 feet of snowfall cutting off the entire region from the rest of the country.
There are reports of snowfall at many places in Sirmaur district after many years with the 12,000 ft high Choordhar peak recording 5 feet of snow .
Chamba district bordering Jammu & Kashmir has been cut of from the rest of the country . In Pangi sub-division the authorities have warned locals to remain indoors and be wary of avalanches .
Normal life was affected in the state capital Shimla as the entire town wore a white mantle , delighting locals and tourists . The snowfall was moderate .
The maximum temperature was barely 1.6 C in Shimla on Saturday some ten notches below normal .
Icy winds snapped power cables at some places causing repeated power failures in the resort town .
Vehicles were stranded at many places in the higher parts of the town . People were forced to walk to their work places . Attendance was poor in government offices .
Many parts of Shimla district have experienced heavy snowfall with all roads blocked for vehicular traffic .
The Hindustan Tibet Road was closed for traffic for the second day with fresh snowfall in the ski resorts of Kufri and Narkanda .
The adjoining wooded resort of Chail was also under a blanket of snow . Manali a popular resort town in the Kullu valley had a heavy spell of snowfall .
Power failures have been reported at many areas in the state.
