The Lahaul and Spiti district, a high-altitude region of the Himalayas located in the north-eastern part of Himachal Pradesh, has been cut off after heavy snowfall blocked all roads, a report said on Sunday morning. Traffic concerns were also reported in Kullu district beyond Patlikuhal towards Manali due to continuous snowfall since Friday.
Himachal Pradesh's weather forecast predicted light rain or snow at isolated places over the high hills of Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, Kinnaur, and upper parts of Kullu and Mandi districts on Sunday. Fog and a cold wave should be expected in at least some places in Mandi, Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Solan, and Sirmaur districts, it added.
Even the stretches of NH 3 and NH 505 passing through Lahaul and Spiti were hit by the snowfall, as no fewer than 685 roads remained closed on Saturday evening, a prominent news daily reported on Sunday morning. Apart from traffic concerns, the affected regions were also hampered by a lack of communication, power, and water supply, the report added.
Light snowfall was still being reported at isolated places in the higher reaches of Lahaul-Spiti as well as Chamba districts. The situation was not very different in Manali on Saturday, as authorities had to step in to get stranded tourists, more than a hundred in number, to safer locations, The Times of India (TOI) said in a report. However, cloudy skies were witnessed in most other parts of the state, it added.
As per the latest data arriving from Himachal Pradesh, Lahaul-Spiti and Chamba had the most road closures at 290 and 132, respectively. As many as 126 roads were closed in Mandi, TOI claimed, citing the state emergency response centre. Furthermore, 5,775 transformers and 126 water supply schemes still need fixing.
