Lahaul-Spiti sans power; schools closed

Dipender Manta

Tribune News Service

Mandi, February 7

Residents of Lahaul-Spiti witnessed heavy snowfall on Thursday, forcing people to stay indoors and snapping powers supply in the entire tribal district.

As per officials, district headquarters Keylong recorded fresh snowfall of 2.5 ft till evening. At Sissu, it was 4 ft, Udaipur 2.5 ft, Tindi 2.5 ft, Tingret 3.5 ft, Jispa 2.5 ft and Spiti Kaza 15 cm.

As a result, people were unable to move out of their houses and till filing of the report it was continuously snowing in the region. On Thursday morning, an avalanche at Tindi damaged a wine shop and two houses. However, no loss of life was reported in the incident.

The entire district is on alert as there is warning of avalanches in coming days because of heavy snowfall. Keeping in view the safety of people, the district administration has directed all educational institutions to remain closed on Friday.

The telecommunication service was erratic in the district, while entire Lahaul-Spiti was reeling from darkness as majority of power lines got damaged because of heavy snow. The traffic also came to a standstill in the region.Lahaul-Spiti Commissioner Ashwani Kumar Chaudhari said the entire district had received heavy snowfall and there had been no power supply since Wednesday midnight. “We have issued an advisory and urged the people to stay indoors until weather changes. All educational institutions will remain closed on Friday to avoid any danger to the schoolchildren as the district is prone to avalanches,” said the DC.

Kullu and Chamba district administration have also directed all educational institutions to remain closed on Friday because of heavy rain and snowfall. In lower parts of Mandi and Kullu districts incessant rain occurred on Thursday, while upper reaches received considerable snowfall. Manali town also donned a white mantle.