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Shimla at standstill after heaviest snowfall in Feb in 18 years
Authorities struggle to restore power, water supply with roads cut off after Himachal’s state capital get 57cm of snow in a day
A day after Shimla received the heaviest snowfall in February in almost two decades, life came to a standstill with no electricity and roads closed to traffic on Friday.
The meteorological department said the state capital got 57cm of snow, the heaviest single day snowfall in February after 2002. The town got 54.1cm of snow on February 12, 2002.
“All roads leading to the state capital were closed due to slippery conditions in the morning. Work is on to clear the snow and by afternoon traffic resumed on the main roads. Only 4×4 vehicles are plying on Cart Road,” said Shimla superintendent of police Mohit Chawla.
More than 650 roads across the state remained closed due to the snowfall, while 450 bus routes were affected and over 400 buses stranded at various places.
Chawla said there were reports of 45-60cm of snowfall at Khara Pathar, Tikkar, Sungri, Khadrala and Dodra-Kwar in Rohru sub division. Rohru and Jubbal towns in the apple belt experienced up to nine inches of snow each.
The public works department has pressed men and machinery into service to clear the snow and restore traffic.
Uprooted trees lead to snapping of overhead wires
There was no electricity in 800 villages of Rohru.
Electricity and water supply was also disrupted in many localities of Shimla for more than 24 hours.
The heavy snow left trees uprooted, causing the snapping of overhead wires and power outages. “Over a dozen trees were uprooted in different parts of the town,” said Shimla municipal corporation commissioner Ashish Kohli.
A majority of the main roads in the town were thrown open to traffic on Friday afternoon.
“The distribution schedule was affected due to the power outage at water treatment plants,” the Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam Limited authorities said, adding the town received only 29.17 mls of water supply from various sources on Friday.
Tourists advised to avoid snowbound areas
In view of the inclement weather, the state authorities have appealed to tourists to avoid travelling to the snowbound areas.
The rain and snowfall across the state are considered good for the wheat and apple crops.
The higher reaches of the state also experienced heavy snowfall, while low-lying areas got moderate to heavy rainfall, intensifying the cold wave as temperatures plummeted below freezing point.
Kalpa in Kinnaur got 6.6cm of snow, Keylong and Jubberhatti 6cm each, Manali 5cm and Dalhousie 3.6 cm.
Jubberhatti experienced 56.4 mm of rain, Solan 49.8mm, Paonta Sahib 17.8mm, Bhunter 10.6mm, Nahan 9.9mm and Dharamshala 2.2mm of rain.
Keylong was the coldest place in the state with a minimum temperature of -7.2 degrees Celsius followed by Kalpa at 4.3 degrees.
Shimla shivered at -1, while Manali and Solan recorded lows of zero degrees Celsius each. “Today light rainfall and snowfall is likely at isolated places in Kullu, Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur, Sirmaur and Shimla districts. The skies will be clear from Saturday,” said Shimla meteorological centre director Manmohan Singh said.
“The minimum temperatures are likely to fall by 3-5degrees Celsius over the next two days,” he added.
