Snowfall in Himachal leads to closure of 134 roads

Shimla, Dec 25 (PTI) A total of 134 roads, including three national highways, were closed in Himachal Pradesh following snowfall in several districts, officials said on Wednesday.
     People shivered under piercing cold wave conditions as minimum temperatures dropped by a few notches and Koksar received 5.6 cm of snow in the past 24 hours, followed by Khadrala and Shilaroo (5 cm each), Pooh (2 cm), Sangla (1.2 cm) and Keylong, Gondla and Jot (1 cm each).
     Tabo in the Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place in Himachal Pradesh recording a night temperature of minus 10.6 degrees Celsius while Una was hottest during the day with a high of 23.6 degrees Celsius.
     A total of 134 roads, including three national highways, Attari and Leh, Sanj to Aut in Kullu district, Khab Sangam in Kinnaur district, and Gramphoo in Lahaul and Spiti district were closed for traffic, officials said.
     According to the state emergency operation centre, a maximum of 77 roads were closed in Shimla district, 25 in Kullu, 36 in Lahaul and Spiti and 14 in Mandi.
     Additionally, 65 transformers were disrupted, affecting the power supply at some places across the state.
     Bhuntar received 9.7 mm of rain, Rampur 9.4 mm, Shimla 8.4 mm, Bajaura 8 mm, Seobagh 7.2 mm, Manali 7 mm, Gohar 6 mm, Mandi 5.4 mm, and Jubbarhatti 3.8 mm, the Met office reported.
     The Met Office has predicted rain and snow at isolated places in some parts of the state, particularly in Shimla, from Friday and Saturday.
     An intense cold wave persisted in Mandi, Manali, Chamba, Una, Hamirpur, and Sundernagar, while dense and moderate fog was observed in Sundernagar and Mandi, respectively, the Met office said.
     The weather office has issued an 'orange' warning for severe cold in Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur, and Mandi on Wednesday and a 'yellow' warning for dense fog over parts of the Bhakra Dam reservoir area and the Balh Valley in Mandi on Thursday and Sunday.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)