Apple-laden trucks stranded in Kinnaur

Bhanu P Lohumi
Tribune News Service
Shimla, November 4

Tribal areas witnessed snowfall for the third day on Sunday while mid and lower hills experienced scattered rain, further intensifying cold wave conditions.

Hundreds of apple-laden trucks are stranded at various places in Kinnaur district while power supply has been disrupted in the Pooh area.

High quality, spotless and juicy apple from Kinnaur and other high-altitude areas start arriving in the market from mid-October to mid-November, but apple transportation has virtually come to a standstill as roads are blocked due to heavy snow at various places. 

Kalpa, the headquarters of Kinnaur district, received 21 cm of fresh snowfall while Keylong and Kothi recorded 3 cm. The high-altitude tribal areas and mountain passes reeled under biting cold wave conditions with the minimum temperatures ranging between -6°C and -10°C after fresh snowfall.

The Pooh subdivision has been worst hit as apple crop suffered huge losses due to dropping of apple and non-marketing of packed fruits. “More than 70 trucks are stranded in Pooh alone as roads are covered under two to three feet of snow,” said Gian Singh Negi, vice-president of Jabung panchayat.

However, the Kinnaur district administration maintained that no report of loss had been received so far and work was on to restore power supply and open the roads. 

The restoration work will be speeded up from Monday as the local MeT office has predicted dry weather for the next six days.

Strong velocity icy winds swept Shimla and surrounding areas and the sky remained heavily overcast, forcing people to stay indoors.

However, the rains are beneficial for rabi sowing which starts in early November as it will keep the soil moist. In case periodical rains continued, the prospects of good crop would brighten. 

Kandaghat was the wettest in the region with 36 mm of rain, followed by Sarahan 34 mm, Reckong Peo 33 mm, Kheri 25 mm, Khadrala 22 mm, Manali 18 mm, Palampur 17 mm, Kotkhai and Chamba 16 mm, Mandi 15 mm, Bhuntar and Seobagh 14 mm, Theog 12 mm, Bijahi, Jubbal, Kufri and Shimla 11mm each.

The minimum temperature dipped to 2.1°C at Keylong while Kalpa and Manali recorded a low of -0.6°C and 2.8°C, followed by Shimla 7.9°C, Bhuntar 8.0°C, Sundernagar 8.4°C, Palampur and Solan 8.5°C, Dharamsala 9.8°C, Nahan 10.7°C and Una 12.5°C.