Himachal braces for more snowfall

Himachal Pradesh is bracing for more snow as a cold wave continued to lash the state on Monday, the weather office said.

The western disturbances -- storm systems originating from Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- will be active again in the region till February 27 and thereafter on March 1-2, an official at the India Meteorological Department told IANS.

Prominent tourist towns like Narkanda, Kufri, Manali and Dalhousie may witness moderate snowfall, the weather man added.

Shimla, which saw a low of 2.1 degrees Celsius on Monday, experienced snow last week like its neigbouring hill destinations Kufri, Mashobra and Narkanda.

Manali in Kullu district, about 250 km from the state capital, is still wrapped under a blanket of snow.

Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti district was the coldest in the state at minus 9 degrees Celsius. It saw 2 cm snowfall in the past 24 hours.

It was minus 5 degrees in Kalpa, and 6.6 degrees in Dharamsala. Kalpa recorded 9 cm snow.

Those in the hospitality industry are happy as they are expecting a record number of footfalls this week owing to chances of more snow.

"Snowfall is an added attraction for the tourists," said D.P. Bhatia, Shimla-based liaison officer with the Oberoi Group of Hotels.-IANS