E-Paper
Higher reaches receive snow in Himachal Pradesh
The snow has also slowed down campaigning for the Mandi Lok Sabha byelection. If the weather does not improve, polling in remote areas will be hard.
The higher reaches of the hill state wore a white mantle after receiving heavy snowfall on Sunday, while the middle hills and low-lying areas received light to moderate rainfall.
The Dhauladhar mountains and the peaks surrounding Manali town were also covered in snow. Rohtang Pass was closed to tourists after it received up to 30cm snow. The northern portal of the Atal Tunnel, received 5cm snow, which led to traffic being halted. Sissu received 5cm snow, Gondhala 10cm, Koksar 12cm, Baralacha 30cm and Keylong 4cm.
The Lahaul-Spiti district administration has issued a warning to the tourists asking them to avoid venturing to snow-bound areas. Farmers in the area are worried that the fresh snowfall may damage the apple crop in the tribal valley. The apple season is yet to begin in Lahaul-Spiti.
The remote Pangi valley also received the first heavy snowfall of the season. All 19 panchcyats in Pangi valley have been cut off from the district headquarters Chamba as the 4,414m Sach Pass, the shortest route to Pangi, has been closed for traffic. The subdivisional headquarters, Kilar, recorded six to seven inches of snowfall, while the higher reaches recorded up to a foot of snow.
The snow has also slowed down campaigning for the Mandi Lok Sabha byelection. If the weather does not improve, polling in remote areas will be hard. Pangi resident commissioner Balwan Chand said essential services had been hit due to snowfall and will be restored once the skies clear.
Rainfall, squall in low-lying areas
Middle and low hills experienced moderate rainfall with Dalhousie being the wettest with 77mm rainfall, followed by Olinda (60mm)and Kheri (57mm). Una received 53mm rain, Bangana 50mm, Ghamroor 42mm, Nagrota Surian 41mm, Guler 39mm and Mehre 37mm.
Saloni in Hamirpur recorded 36mm rain, Dehra 34mm Jhandutta 30mm, Amb 28mm Dharamshala 16mm and Bharmour 10mm. The region also witnessed high-velocity winds. In Tissa of Chamba one person was injured after roof of a school was blown away by squall.
The MeT department has forecast more rain and snowfall across the state on Monday. The spell of snow and rain also brought down the maximum temperature in the region even as night temperatures were about 1°C above normal.
Keylong was the coldest with the night temperature at -0.7°C, followed by Kalpa at 4.6°C. Manali recorded a temperature of 7.5°C, Kufri 10°C, Shimla and Dalhousie 10.1°C, Palampur 10.2 °C and Dharamshala 12.8°C. The maximum temperature dropped 3-4°C below normal.
