Bright sunny day after snowfall, rain in U'khand; no respite from cold wave

Road clearing work was launched on a war footing across Uttarakhand on Thursday as the weather cleared after a four-day spell of heavy snowfall and rains.

Snowfall in the higher reaches of the state for four consecutive days has left nearly two dozen roads in both Kumaon and Garhwal regions clogged with snow, disrupting traffic, the State Disaster Management Authority said.

Trees have also fallen on several roads, it said.

JCBs and Pokland machines were rushed to stretches blocked by thick layers of snow, it said.

In Nainital district, areas where road clearing work is underway included Dhanachuli to Motiapathar on Mukteshwar road, Nainital Mall Road, the road from Faunsi gadhera to DM office, Rajbhawan to Masjid road, High Court premises, Bhowali-Nainital-Tanky-Kilbery-Pangot Road and Birla Chungi Motor Road.

Though the sun shone bright, there was no respite from cold in Dehradun which recorded a minimum of 4.5 degrees Celsius on Thursday. Both Mukteshwar and Tehri recorded a minimum of 2.0 degrees Celsius.

Six roads were blocked in Champawat district, nine in Almora and four in Dehradun.

Though tourists visiting Mussoorie, Dhanolti and Tehri enjoyed the spell of snow, traffic disruption on various routes also caused inconvenience to them.

Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat expressed happiness at the change in the weather pattern as some places in Jaunsar Bavar area received snowfall after two or four decades.

Hanol in the region received snow after 20 years while Sahiya received snow after 40 years.

On several roads still being blocked, the chief minister said the inconvenience caused to tourists was temporary as efforts were underway to clear the roads at the earliest.