Himachal: 350 Roads Closed As Snow, Rain Continue Impeding Daily Life

Shimla: Inclement weather conditions in the state of Himachal Pradesh continue to affect the lives of the locals, with 350 roads, including four national highways, remaining closed for traffic. The state's mid and low hills saw some intermittent rain while the local weather department in Shimla issued a red alert for thunderstorms with lightning, hailstorms and heavy rain being witnessed in some isolated areas of the state with gusty winds reaching up to 50 km/hr on Saturday.   

In the higher reaches of Chamba, Kinnaur and the Lahaul & Spiti districts, snowfall not only led to the closure of roads but also saw transformers being rendered non-functional. 

A maximum of 290 roads are closed in Lahaul & Spiti, 32 in Kinnaur, 10 in Mandi, eight in Chamba, seven in Kullu, two in Shimla and one in Kangra. According to the State Emergency Operation Centre, at least 1,314 transformers are out of order across the state. 

The remote Dodra Kwar subdivision of Shimla district has been cut off from the rest of the state with the Shimla-Kinnaur Road being blocked near Negulsari due to shooting stones. The heavy snowfall has also led to the closure of the Rohtang Pass.

Gondla in Lahaul & Spiti received 61.2 cm of snow — the highest in the state. Kukumseri recorded 58 cm snowfall, followed by Keylong at 53 cm, Kalpa at 51.7 cm, Pooh and Pangi at 30 cm each, Khadrala at 16 cm, Sangla at 11.2 cm, Moorang at 9.3 cm, Atal Tunnel at six cm. Manali received trace snowfall.

However, with 84 mm rainfall, Manali was wettest in the state, followed by Banjar at 80.2 mm, Seobagh at 77.4 mm, Reckong Peo at 48 mm, Bharmour at 47 mm, Sarahan at 47 mm, Rampur and Chamba at 45 mm each, Dalhousie at 44 mm, Chopal at 42 mm and Rohru at 40 mm.

Snow and rain across the state will continue till Sunday. The weather will remain dry in the plains, low and middle hills during March 4-5 while snow and rainfall will continue in the higher reaches, said Meteorological Centre, Shimla, Director Surender Paul.

With inputs from PTI.