Himachal Snowfall Brings Cheers to Christmas Revellers, Causes Road Closure; 4 Killed Due to Accidents

Manali: Amid Christmas and New Year festivities, tourists are flocking to several tourists hubs across the country, including in Himachal Pradesh. The footfall to the hilly state generally increases this time as it turns into a white  winterland due to snowfall which attarcts tourists from across the country. Similarly, Jammu and Kashmir experiences similar weather during  this time, bringing cheer to tourists visiting the places for Christmas and New Year holiday. Further, temperatures also dips below freezing point in many areas.

Such extreme weather conditions also bring woes for revellers as they witness road closures. This year, top tourist hubs such as Shimla and Manali have again seen a surges in tourist footfall and hotel bookings. In Himachal, snowfall has led to the closure of over 200 roads and four deaths due to vehicle skidding incidents. 

Here are the  top updates:

Snowfall Blankets Parts of Himachal, Rain Predicted

As parts of Himachal Pradesh have turned into a snow land, the MeT department has reportedly predicted rain and more snow at isolated places in some parts of the state, Shimla in particular, from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, with the downpour peaking on Saturday. While Social media has been flooded with images of Shimla and Manali beautifully covered in a snow-blanket.

PTI, citing Shimla Hotel and Tourism Stakeholders' Association president MK Seth, reported that hotel occupancy in Shimla was at more than 70 per cent. The snowfall led to a 30-percentage point increase in room bookings, he added.

Snowfall leads to closure of Roads in Himachal

At least 223 roads, including three national highways, were shut in the state due to the snowfall across the upper reaches of Himachal Pradesh. About 223 roads, including the national highways between Attari and Leh, Sanj to Aut in Kullu district, and Khab Sangam in Kinnaur district and Gramphoo in Lahaul and Spiti district, were closed for traffic, PTI reported on Tuesday.

Shimla accounted for most of road closures (145), followed by 25 in Kullu and 20 in Mandi districts. Some areas were without power after 356 transformers stopped working. Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh said the department is ready to handle the tourist influx, adding that a total of 268 machineries, including two snow blowers, have been deployed to clear the roads.

4 Killed in Accidents

As per reports on Monday, four people died in accidents in 24 hours and several suffered injuries due to vehicles skidding at some places in Himachal Pradesh. Meanwhile, hundreds of tourists' vehicles stranded near the Atal Tunnel were safely rescued till late on Monday, Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue and Disaster) Onkar Sharma said.