Nearly 50 tourists are stranded in Kothi, Manali due to blocked roads. Traffic to tourist destinations Shimla, Manali and Dalhousie were snapped from the rest of Himachal Pradesh on Saturday due to heavy snowfall. Traffic bound for Shimla was disrupted at Shogi, about 15 km from Shimla, due to snowfall, an official said. Traffic on the National Highway-21 was also blocked near Patlikuhl, 20 km before Manali. Internal routes were also cut off within Shimla.
Power lines were damaged due to falling trees which lead to a major power-cut in Shimla. Efforts are being made to rescue the tourists.
The other repercussions of snow were freezing of taps and lakes. According to the India, a few areas in Shimla like the Mall Road, the Ridge, the US Club and Jakhu hills got more than a foot of snow. There was heavy rainfall in other parts of Himachal Pradesh namely Dharamsala, Palampur, Solan, Nahan, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur and Mandi.
Even traffic bound for towns in Shimla district such as Narkanda, Jubbal, Kotkhai, Kharapathar and Chopal have been disrupted. Tourists are advised not to travel to remote areas as they are prone to heavy snow.
