Himachal: tourists throng Shimla amid snowfall

Amid heavy snowfall in various parts of Himachal Pradesh, tourists are thronging the hilly state. Tourists are also rushing to Shimla and other major attractions amid the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting that there will be heavy heavy snowfall, while the weather will improve in the next few days.

While the hilly state witnessed heavy spells of snowfall on Friday, the flight operations were also affected. In mid highs districts, moderate rainfall and snowfall were registered. Kangra, Una-Bilaspur, Hamirpur, and Mandi reported moderate rainfall. Kullu, Shimla, Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba also witnessed snowfall at high regions along with moderate rainfall.

In the past 24 hours, the Shimla district recorded 48cm snowfall, while Chamba, Kullu Lahaul-Spiti also registered moderated to intense snowfall. The lowest minimum temperature in the state was registered in Keylong at -6.9 degrees Celcius. Meanwhile, the maximum temperature was registered in Munnar 13.2 degrees Celsius. Shimla, Manali, Keylong, Kalpa, and Kufri reported the temperature in negative.

Tourist Naveen Yadav from Delhi said that there was moderate snowfall in the region. He said, "I felt that I could go back to my home after enjoying the weather. But unexpectedly, the snowfall went on from night to till now. There was hope that the snowfall will stop, but after the official announcement from the administration, it seems that the roads will not be open in the coming days. So, we have decided to stay here and enjoy the weather."

Satish, a local resident of Shimla, expressed his disappointment with the weather. He said that due to the heavy snowfall, services like auto services, electricity, and water services are affected, while the roads are slippery.

( With inputs from ANI )