Himachal gets more snow

Himachal Pradesh's popular tourist destinations Kufri, Manali and Dalhousie received more snowfall, pushing down the temperatures by several notches on Friday.

A government spokesperson said if the snowfall continued, services of state-run buses in upper Shimla and in Chamba district might be affected.

While Shimla saw a light spell of snowfall, nearby places like Kufri and Narkanda experienced moderate snowfall, according to a Met official.

"High-altitude areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba, Mandi, Kullu, Kinnaur and Shimla districts have been experiencing moderate to heavy snow since Thursday," the official said.

Keylong, the headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti, recorded 11 cm of snow, while it was 10 cm in Kalpa in Kinnaur district.

Bharmour in Chamba district recorded 60 cm of snow, the state's highest, while picturesque tourist resort Dalhousie in the district had 45 cm of snow.

Manali, which saw a low of minus 1 degree Celsius, too experienced snowfall along with its nearby popular skiing slopes in Solang.

Shimla recorded a low of 1.7 degrees Celsius, while it was minus 11 degrees in Keylong, minus 6 degrees in Kalpa and 2.4 degrees in Dharamsala, which had 31.6 mm of rain.

Incessant snowfall hampered vehicular traffic in Shimla, Kinnaur, Mandi and Kullu districts.

The Met department's forecast said the western disturbances -- storm systems originating from Caspian Sea in the Central Asia and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- were likely to recede by Saturday.

--IANS

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