NH-5 remains blocked due to landslides caused by fresh snow, rain in HP

National Highway 5 in Himachal Pradesh remained blocked on Thursday due to landslides caused by fresh snowfall and rain, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded, officials said.

The highway, which connects Ferozepur in Punjab to the Sino-India border at Shipki La, was blocked on Wednesday night after snowfall in Kinnaur district.

The snow was cleared but the highway could not be reopened as a bridge in Kinnaur's Urni village was damaged due to landslides, the officials said.

Besides, a tree fell on the highway at Kingal village in Shimla's Narkanda tehsil, they said.

Hundreds of vehicles are stranded on both sides of the road in Shimla and Kinnaur districts, according to the officials.

Earlier in the day, traffic in Narkanda and Kharapathar was also blocked. However, traffic flow was restored later, they said.

The snowfall and rain caused the mercury to drop a few notches.

Gondla received the highest snowfall in the state in the last 24 hours at 45 cm; followed by 20 cm in Kalpa; 15 cm each in Kothi, Keylong and Khadrala; 12 cm in Udaipur; 10 cm in Kufri; 5 cm each in Pooh and Bharmour, Shimla Meteorological Centre Director Manmohan Singh said.

Some other parts of the state, including state capital Shimla witnessed light to moderate rain. Dalhousie received the highest rainfall at 81 mm, he said.

Dharamshala in Kangra district received 49 mm of rain, forcing authorities to cancel the India-South Africa 20-20 match which was scheduled to be held at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium on Thursday.

Tribal district Lahaul-Spiti's administrative centre Keylong continued to be the coldest place in the state with a minimum temperature of minus 2.8 degrees Celsius, Singh said.

Nahan recorded the highest temperature in the state at 21.7 degrees Celsius, he said.