Here is another opportunity to see snow in Himachal

Shimla, Jan 9 (IANS) If you missed the snowfall in the hills of Himachal Pradesh last week, here is another opportunity.

The weather bureau in Shimla on Wednesday predicted more snowfall between January 11 and 12.

Most of the prominent tourist towns like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Kalpa, Dalhousie and Manali are likely to have light to moderate spells of snowfall, meteorological office director Manmohan Singh told IANS.

He said western disturbances -- storm systems originating from Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region -- are likely to be active in the region from the evening of January 10 and would remain active till January 13.

"The impact of the western disturbance will be largely seen in the state on January 12 with possibility of heavy snowfall in high hills of Shimla, Kinnaur, Sirmaur, Kullu, Chamba and Lahaul-Spiti districts," he said.

Lower areas of the state like Dharamsala, Palampur, Solan, Nahan, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur and Mandi towns are likely to see widespread rain that will bring down the temperatures considerably.

Most of the prominent tourist towns like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Kalpa, Dalhousie and Manali had moderate spells of snowfall on January 6.

Shimla on Wednesday recorded the minimum temperature at 3.4 degrees Celsius, while it was minus seven degree in Kalpa, minus four degree in Manali, 2.9 degrees in Dalhousie, 0.7 degree in Kufri and 2.2 degrees in Dharamsala.

Kalpa has recorded 3.8 cm of snow since Tuesday.

The state disaster management authority said it is fully geared up to deal with snowfall.

Residents and tourists have been advised not to venture out on the high hills as chances of snapping of road links are high.

The supply of essential commodities and transportation of people may get hampered in remote areas of the state, a government official told IANS.

Areas near Shimla like Kufri and Narkanda and popular tourist resorts of Manali and Dalhousie are still covered in a thick blanket of snow.

Shimla Deputy Commissioner Amit Kashyap has appealed to the tourists to avoid travelling in their vehicles towards Kufri beyond Shimla as the road is slippery after last week's snowfall.

"We are advising the motorists, especially the tourists, to park their vehicles at Dhalli and use public transport to reach Kufri and its nearby destinations," he told IANS.