Snowfall, rain in parts of Himachal, 4 NH among 473 road closed

Shimla: Over 470 roads, including four national highways, remained closed in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday after snowfall and rain in several parts, the state emergency operation centre said.

According to the centre, 473 roads were closed while 398 transformers and 38 water supply schemes were disrupted.

In Himachal, January was recorded as the driest in the past 17 years as the state received 6.8 mm rains against normal rainfall of 85.3 mm, a deficit of 92 per cent, according to the MeT department.

In January 1996, the rain deficit was 99.6 per cent and in 2007, the rain deficit was 98.5 per cent.

Of the total, 153 roads were closed for vehicles in Lahaul and Spiti, 134 in Shimla, 68 in Kullu, 61 in Chamba, 46 in Mandi, eight in Sirmaur, two in Kinnaur and one in Kangra.

In the past 24 hours, Khadrala received 4 cm of snow, Bharmour 3 cm, Kufri 2 cm, Gondla 1.3 cm and Sangla 0.5 cm while Kalpa, Kukumseri, Narkanda and Keylong received traces of snow, according to data shared by the MeT office.

The snowfall also increased the tourist footfall in the state Shimla which witnessed an increase in the tourist arrival from 30-70 per cent last weekend, said Shimla Hotel and Tourism Stakeholders Association president M K Seth, while pinning his hope on February for a good season.

Palampur received a hailstorm while light rains lashed some parts of the state. Mandi and Chopal received 10 mm of rain each, Slapper 9 mm, Bhuntar 8.5 mm, Seobagh 8 mm, Dharamshala 7.7 mm and Sundernagar 7 cm.

The minimum and maximum temperatures remained below normal. Kukumseri in Lahaul and Spiti recorded the lowest night temperature at minus 8.6 degrees C.

The local Met Office has predicted dry weather in the state for the next six days till February 12.

The snow and rains has also brought cheers to the agriculturists and horticulturists as snow is considered as white manure for apples and rains are beneficial for the Rabi crop.

A dry spell had affected the Rabi crops in plain areas.