Tourists make merry in Shimla snow

Shimla, Feb 27 (IANS) The Himachal Pradesh capital on Wednesday witnessed snowfall that snapped internal road links but brought joy to tourists, who were seen making merry hurling snowballs at one another.

"Shimla and its nearby areas have been experiencing snowfall since Tuesday night," a Met official here told IANS. The Met forecast more snow and rain in the state till Thursday.

There was snowfall in neraby Kufri, Mashobra and Narkanda turning them more picturesque.

A large number of tourists flocked to the resort destination, known for the imperial grandeur of its British era buildings.

"It's for the first time in my life that I have experienced the snowfall," said Aruti Kashyap, a tourist from Chandigarh, who was in Shimla along with her friends.

Shimla, which saw a low of minus 1.4 degrees Celsius, recorded more than 4 cm of snow, while Kufri and Mashobra recorded more than 10 cm each.

The snowy landscape in Shimla will stay this way for a day or two, an official of the Met Office said. Reports said some of the areas in upper Shimla like Jubbal, Kotkhai and Kharapathar also experienced snow.

The district administration has declared holiday in all educational institutes in Shimla and Kinnaur districts on Wednesday owing to snowfall.

"High-altitude areas of Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, Kullu, Kinnaur and Shimla districts have been experiencing moderate to heavy snow," the official said.

Lower areas including Dharamsala, Palampur, Solan, Nahan, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur and Mandi towns received moderate rain, bringing down the temperature considerably.

Manali, which saw 3 cm snow, experienced a low of minus 1 degree Celsius.

Kalpa, 250 km from the state capital, and Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district experienced snow.

These towns saw the night temperature fall to 6 degrees and 11 degrees Celsius below the freezing point respectively.