Shimla, Manali cut off after heavy snow, traffic hampered

Traffic to tourist destinations Shimla, Manali and Dalhousie were cut off from the rest of Himachal Pradesh on Saturday following heavy snowfall overnight, officials said.

Electricity supply was snapped in Shimla and Manali as power lines were damaged due to falling trees.

Traffic bound for Shimla was disrupted at Shogi, about 15 km from here, due to snowfall, an official told IANS.

Likewise, traffic on the National Highway-21 was blocked near Patlikuhl, 20 km before Manali.

This was the season's first significant snowfall that froze the "Queen of Hills", as Shimla was fondly called by the British.

The cold weather resulted in the freezing of taps. According to the Met office here, certain areas in Shimla like the Mall Road, the Ridge, the US Club and Jakhu hills got more than a foot of snow.

Director General of Police Somesh Goyal said it was after decades that Shimla received so much of snow.

"Bad thing is no electricity. Who cares! Going out for a walk with camera," Goyal said on his Facebook account.

Rain lashed lower areas of Himachal Pradesh such as Dharamsala, Palampur, Solan, Nahan, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur and Mandi, bringing down the temperatures.

A government spokesperson said most of the internal roads in Shimla and Kinnaur districts were cut off due to snow.

Even traffic bound for towns in Shimla district such as Narkanda, Jubbal, Kotkhai, Kharapathar and Chopal have been disrupted.

The official advised tourists not to venture into remote areas as chances of heavy snow were high.

The weather forecast said western disturbances -- storm systems originating from the Caspian Sea in the Central Asia and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- would remain active till Sunday with chances of more snow.