Himachal Pradesh: Snowfall blocks roads in several districts

Latest reports state that four national highways (NH) in Himachal Pradesh and around 110 main and lateral roads connecting its towns and villages are cut off because of heavy snowfall throughout the night and during the wee hours on Friday. This has also resulted in traffic blockade for those residing in Kinnaur district as roads in many areas have been blocked due to weather conditions.

Also, owing to intermittent snowfall in Kinnaur, Shimla, Sirmaur, and Chamba, more than 200 vehicles remained stranded. Road connectivity in Yangthang, Moorang, Pooh, Sangla, and Kalpa areas of the district has also been severed because of snow.
Similarly, tourist hotspots, such as Narkanda, Kufri, and Kharapathar areas of Shimla district witnessed heavy snowfall. Kharapathar experienced more than 30 cm of fresh snowfall, which further blocked the road of Jubbal, Mandhol, Rohru, and Tikkar areas of the region. Following snowfall and downpours in most areas of Himachal Pradesh, the maximum temperature dropped by 7-8 degrees Celsius during the past 24 hours.
Now, as per the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), more snowfall and rain is expected in the state during the second half of the today. Not just Himachal Pradesh, Pir Panjal Pass of Jammu and Kashmir also experienced heavy rainfall, which caused road blockage at the Mughal Road, which links Shopian in south Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region.
The local authorities are, however, making efforts to clear the snow on the 86 km long historic road.

The IMD has forecasted that heavy rains or snow will likely occur in isolated places in Uttarakhand, Shimla and its adjoining areas as well as in some isolated areas of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Karaikal, and Puducherry.