As many as 200 roads were closed for vehicular traffic in the upper regions of Himachal Pradesh while several train services were delayed in Jammu and Kashmir after fresh snowfall on Thursday. Similarly, 177 roads were in Lahaul and Spiti, five in Chamba, and two each in Kangra and Kullu.
The remote Dodra Kwar subdivision in Shimla district was cut off from the rest of the state due to snowfall along with isolated parts of Shimla, Kangra, Kullu, Chamba and Lahaul and Spiti districts. Kothi in Kullu received 14 cm of snow followed by Khadrala and Shillaro with 10 and 7.5 cm each. Kufri and Gondla each received 4 cm of snow while Kalpa recorded 3 cm of snowfall.
The Jakhu hill in the capital town was covered under a thin layer of snow but intermittent rains washed it off. Keylong in the tribal Lahaul and Spiti district recorded the lowest minimum temperature in the state at minus 6.3 degrees Celsius, followed by Narkanda at minus 2.8 degrees Celsius, Kalpa at minus 2.6 degrees Celsius, Kufri minus 1.2 degrees Celsius, Dalhousie minus 0.1 degrees Celsius.
Manali and Shimla shivered at 0.4 degrees Celsius and 1.4 degrees Celsius respectively.
Tourists' hopes of witnessing snowfall came true
The tourism sector in Shimla is hoping that snowfall would lead to tourists making a beeline to the queen of hills during the weekend. According to the local weather station, light to moderate snowfall in mid and higher hills is predicted on January 13 and rains in lower hills from January 14 to January 18.
A prolonged dry spell in the state has resulted in a 20 to 25 per cent loss to wheat crops and vegetable cultivation in rainfed areas which constitute 75 per cent of the total cultivable land in Himachal Pradesh as the state recorded almost 100 per cent deficit rains in December 2022. With isolated rains and snow in some places, the rain deficit from January 1 to January 12 has been reduced to 76 per cent as the region received 4.9 mm average rains against the normal rainfall of 22.9 mm.
Train derails affecting services
The engine of a train derailed near Mazhama area of Budgam district of central Kashmir due to bad weather which led to services being suspended on the Budgam-Baramullah route. It is believed that the accident occurred due to slippage. Heavy snowfall between Qazigund and Banihal led to road closure which caused a traffic halt on the route.
IMD predicts heavy snowfall for next 24 hours
The Meteorological Department has expressed the possibility of heavy rain and snowfall in the hilly areas as well as in the plains in Kashmir for the next 24 hours, due to which there is a possibility of not only a significant drop in the temperature, but its effect in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh besides Jammu and Kashmir. And it is hard to see in other states of the country.
(With inputs from agencies)
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