Season’s first snow in Kufri, Narkanda, Manali

Taffic on the Theog-Chopal, Theog-Narkanda, Narkanda-Baghi-Khadrala roads came to a standstill this morning as Khirki, Baghi Khadrala and ski resort of Narkanda and the Mahasu peak in Kufri and Manali in Kullu district experienced the first snowfall of the season.Commuters walk with umbrellas amid rain in Shimla
The tourist spots of Khirki, Kharapathar, Narkanda in Shimla and Kalpa in Kinnaur are likely to get more snow in 36 hours as the MeT office has predicted more snowfall and rain at most places. The snow has cheered apple farmers, hoteliers and locals.

An HRTC bus carrying 25 passengers had a narrow escape when it skidded off the road at Narkanda and hit the sideways, said officials.

Visitors take pony ride in Kufri near Shimla on Thursday. Photo: Amit Kanwar

The district administration has stopped the bus service beyond Narkanda and beyond Chambi on the Chopal-Maroag road due to snow, said SP Umapati Jamwal. The traffic has been diverted on the Kingal road for Rampur and Kinnaur.
The widespread snow and rain have cut off Chopal, Narkanda, Baghi, Khadrala, Dodra Kwar, Sungri and Kalpa from Shimla. Khirki and Chharki got more than one foot snow while Shilgrahan village half-foot snow.
The hoteliers heaved a sigh of relief as hordes of tourists thronged Kufri. The inflow of the tourist is likely to increase this weekend and toward Christmas, said Sanjay Thakur, a local hotelier.
Shimla recorded 3 mm of rain while it recorded the maximum temperature of 5.9 degree, while Kufri recorded -0.5 degree C. The freezing chill has brought relief for apple growers.
Manali at 12.2 degree C was warmer while Nahan at 14.8 degree C was the warmest place in the state, said the MeT office.
Dharamsala and Manali recorded 25 mm rain each, the highest in the state followed by 23 mm at Bhuntar and 19 mm at Sarabai in Kullu till 4.30 pm.

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Life crippled in Chamba
Chamba: Heavy snow crippled life at the high-altitude areas of Chamba district on Thursday. Vehicles remained stranded for hours. A stretch on the Pathankot-Chamba-Bharmour near Bharmour was blocked, affecting the vehicular movement. The Chamba-Shimla highway too was covered under snow. Officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) said heavy machinery had been pressed into service to clear the roads. ldquo;The main highways will be restored soon,rdquo; the officials said.

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Roads closed 12

• Shimla zone 4
• National highway 3;
• Kangra zone 5;
• Machines deployed 25;