Himachal Pradesh receives season's first snowfall, tourist dies in snow-related accident

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh witnessed its first snowfall of the season which led to the closure of 15 roads, including two National Highways, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said on Monday.

A tourist from New Delhi, Bhishan Garg (49), died on Sunday night when his vehicle skidded on the icy road and collided with a parked tipper in the Lahaul Spiti district while three others sustained injuries, police said.

The accident occurred when the driver of the ill-fated car tried to overtake the vehicles stranded in traffic as the road was slippery. He lost control, resulting in the car crashing into the tipper.

At least 15 roads, including Atari-Leh National Highway 3 and Firozpur-Shipki La National Highway 5, were blocked for vehicular traffic in Kullu and Lahaul and Spiti districts.

Sixty-two out of 87 roads closed on Monday morning were opened for vehicles and in the evening, six roads were closed in Kangra; two each in Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur and Una; one each in Shimla, Kullu and Chamba districts while 18 transformers were disrupted, the SEOC said.

Shimla, along with the nearby tourist resorts of Kufri, Fagu, Chansel, Narkanda and the Churdhar ranges, as well as several high mountain passes, received the first snowfall of the season on Sunday evening, breaking a ten-week dry spell and bringing cheer to the farmers, apple growers and hoteliers.

Shimla received 2.5 cm of snow, and areas like The Ridge, Mall Road and Jakhoo Peak were covered in a light blanket of snow. Snowfall was also recorded in key tourist destinations such as Manali, Kasauli, and Chail since Sunday evening, while Dharamshala experienced light snow on Monday.

Kanishka from Haryana's Rohtak, who had come to Dharamshala, said, "The weather is beautiful and we were lucky to witness snow. It is for the first time that I have seen snow-clad mountains and the view is beautiful".

While another Tourist Kajal from Delhi said they had not expected snowfall and the mountains looked like a canvas.

High-altitude areas and mountain passes were blanketed in snow, causing minimum temperatures to drop by four to six degrees. The high-altitude tribal areas experienced piercing cold, with minimum temperatures ranging from 12 to 18 degrees below freezing. Tabo recorded a low of minus 12.3 degrees Celsius.

Since Sunday evening, about 800 people stranded in 490 vehicles in Lahaul due to the snowfall have been rescued, according to the Lahaul and Spiti police. Snow and slippery road conditions also disrupted vehicular traffic on several roads in the upper Shimla region.

The Lahaul and Spiti police have asked the commuters to maintain low speeds, avoid abrupt braking, and heed weather advisories to prevent tragedies.

Meanwhile, the police rescued four women and the taxi driver who were struck due to heavy snowfall on their return from Kamrunag temple in Mandi district.

These women from Shimla had hired a Swift Dzire taxi and were returning after offering worship at the temple and suddenly, heavy snowfall started and their vehicle struck in the snow. They contacted their families, who informed the Gohar police and a rescue team was rushed and some local people also headed for the spot.

The police acted swiftly and the women and the taxi driver were rescued and shifted to safer places, Gohar police station incharge Lal Chan Thakur said. The police have advised the people not to go to Kamrunag temple till the weather clears.

Despite the adverse weather, schools in Shimla remained open due to ongoing exams, and the supply of essential goods was also not affected.

Koksar recorded 6.7 cm of snow, followed by Khadrala with 5 cm, Sangla with 3.6 cm, Keylong with 3 cm, and Nichar and Shimla both with 2.5 cm.

The lower hills of the state saw light rainfall, with Kandaghat, Kasauli, Jubbarhatti and Mandi recording 2.2 mm, 2 mm, 1.9 mm, and 1.4 mm of rain, respectively.

Intense cold wave conditions persisted, with minimum temperatures staying two to six degrees below the freezing point at several locations. Tabo in Lahaul and Spiti recording a low of minus 12.3 degrees Celsius was the coldest at night while Una with 21 degrees Celsius was the hottest during the day.

The post-monsoon rainfall deficit in the state from October 1 to December 9 decreased from 98 per cent to 96 per cent due to light rains and snowfall.

The state received 2.1 mm of rain, compared to the normal rainfall of 49.3 mm during this period.

The rain deficit was 100 per cent in Chamba, 99 per cent in Bilaspur, Kullu, Sirmaur, and Hamirpur, 97 per cent in Kangra and Solan, and 96 per cent in Shimla.

The Local Meteorological Department has issued a yellow warning for dense fog in parts of the Bhakra Dam reservoir area (Bilaspur) and Balh Valley (Mandi) in the early morning and late night hours on December 10 and 11.