More snow in Shimla, Manali; mercury nosedives

Popular tourist destinations Shimla and Manali on Tuesday received more snowfall, while the lower hills across Himachal Pradesh were lashed by rain, bringing the temperature down by several notches.

Hoteliers have cheered up with the snowfall in the hope that tourists will come in large numbers in the coming days.

Tourist spots near Shimla, such as honeymooners' paradise Kufri, Fagu and Narkanda experienced plentiful snowfall, making the hill stations even more picturesque.

However, in the state capital, which had 14 cm snow and saw foggy weather, the snow largely melted with the accompanying rain. It could be seen in certain areas of Shimla like the Jakhu hills.

Manali's uphill Solang ski slopes and Kalpa, 250 km from the state capital, also saw snowfall.

The Rohtang Pass, 52 km from Manali, has been experiencing heavy snowfall.

Meteorological office director Manmohan Singh told IANS that snowfall might occur in Shimla, Kullu, Kinnaur, Lahaul-Spiti and Chamba districts till Wednesday.

"The higher reaches have been experiencing moderate to heavy snowfall since early Monday, while mid and lower hills were lashed with rain," he said.

The minimum temperature in Shimla was recorded at minus 0.1 degrees Celsius, while Kufri recorded minus 3.4 degrees C.

Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place in the state at minus 7 degrees Celsius. It saw 15.3 cm of snow.

It was 3.2 degrees Celsius in Dharamsala, minus 3.4 degrees Celsius in Kalpa, which experienced 15.2 cm of snow, and minus 1.6 degrees Celsius in Manali with 8 cm of snow.

Kothi near Manali saw 45 cm of snow, the highest in the state.

The snow has partially cut off Kinnaur district and towns in Shimla district such as Narkanda, Jubbal, Kotkhai, Kharapathar, Rohru and Chopal, a government official said.

The road link to towns in upper Shimla is likely to be restored by afternoon, the official said.IANS