More snow expected in Himachal

It was a sunny morning in the Himachal Pradesh capital on Saturday with an intense cold wave sweeping across the state as the Met forecast more rainfall and snow throughout the state from February 5 onwards.

Shimla had recieved snowfall on Friday. The Met said along with Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Manali and Dalhousie, located in mid-hills, may witness moderate snowfall next week as well.

The western disturbances -- storm systems originating from Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- will be active again in the region from Monday, Met Office Director Manmohan Singh told IANS.

Shimla, which saw a low of 2.2 degrees Celsius, had received mild snow, while its neighbouring Kufri, Mashobra and Narkanda had plenty snowfall.

Manali in Kullu district, about 250km from here, is also wrapped under a blanket of snow. It saw a minimum of minus 3.8 degrees Celsius.

Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place in the state at minus 14 degrees Celsius.

It was minus 7.8 degrees in Kalpa and 2.8 degrees in Dharamsala.

Those in the hospitality industry are happy as they are expecting a record number of footfalls owing to chances of more snow.

"Snowfall is always an added attraction for the tourists," said Shimla-based hotelier Deepak Gupta as the Valentine's Day approaches.

--IANS

vg/in