Lahaul-Spiti turns white too

Tribune News Service

Mandi, February 12

Fresh snowfall hampered traffic movement for days in Lahaul-Spiti, while the lower region of Kullu and Mandi districts received mild rainfall today.

Farmers of Kullu and Mandi districts took a sigh of relief as it rained after a long dry spell. The farmers had been waiting desperately for rain and snow for better crops. The telecommunication and Internet services were hit in Lahaul-Spiti, due to which residents were facing difficulty in communicating with their near and dear ones within and outside the district.

According to residents of Lahaul-Spiti,there wasin 30 cm snowfall in Keylong till evening, while two feet above in Darcha, Gondhla and Koksar Valley. Similarly, in Udaipur 15 cm and Kaza, 8 cm snowfall was reported.

In Lahaul valley, the roads are blocked because of the heavy snowfall and traffic has come to a standstill. While in the Spiti Valley, light vehicle were commuting today.

Lahaul-Spiti Deputy Commissioner Ashwani Kumar Chaudhari urged the people to avoid venturing out in the snowbound area in the coming days and take precautions until the situation became normal.

Hoteliers of Kullu-Manali also took sigh of relief after fresh snowfall in Manali town and its vicinity and they were expecting that it would enhance the arrival of tourists in the coming days, which would further boost to their business.

In Mandi district, in higher altitude areas like Shikari Devi, Prashar, Kamrunag and Barot there was fresh snowfall, while in the lower area, there was mild rainfall till noon, which plummeted the temperature.