Shimla. Oct 27
Early winter and fresh snowfall in high reaches has intensified the cold wave condition in the state. Also due to the same the search and rescue operation to trace five missing trekkers is getting hampered, informed Kinnaur administration. These trekkers belonging to Kolkata, Uttarakhand and Mumbai, got trapped in heavy snow storm at Kinnaur district recently, they added. Deputy commissioner Kinnaur Apoorva Devgan said that five trekkers who, went missing in snowy passes of the district couldn’t be evacuated owing to heavy snowfall recently and in last 24 hrs.
Out the five, three trekkers died while enroute to Sangla of Kinnuar district from Janglik of Rohru subdivision as they got trapped in a snow blizzard on Oct 24. The deceased are identified as Deepak Rau(58) son of Narayan Rau, Rajinder Bhal Chander Pathak( 65) son of Bal Chander Pathak and Ashok Madhukar (64) son of Madhukar.
The other two trekkers are yet missing on the Lamkhaga pass enroute to Uttrakhand Himachal walking route since Oct 17. They were part of the 11 member team, out which only 2 survived while other 7 lost lives.
DC said that ITBP and police rescue team was sent again today to evacuate the deceased trekkers however inclement weather subsequent to mishap has been hampering the risky rescue operation.
Snow on higher reaches
The Met Office said that Gondla and Keylong in Lahaul Spiti recorded four and three cm snow today. There is information of fresh spell Snowfall also recorded in high reaches of Lahaul- Spiti at, 13050 ft high Rohtang Pass, Kunzum Pass, Baralacha, Lady of Keylong, Sapatrishi and Goshal hills, Shikaridevi of Mandi, Malana, Jalorijot and high reaches of Bhuntar and Manali, Dhauladhar ranges of Kangra, Sachpass, Manimahash, high reaches of Bharmour and Pangi in Chamba, Kinner Kailash of Kinnuar, High reaches of Dodra and Kawar of Shimla in last 24 hrs.
Light rain lashed few places in the state as tourist Manali in Kullu had ten mm rain, Kothi 9.6 mm and Udaipur 3.8 mm.
It has been mainly dry to partly cloudy on Wednesday .
Minimum temperature was two to three degree below normal with Keylong as coldest in the state at minus 1.7 degree Celsius, Kalpa in Kinnuar 1.4 degrees, tourist resort Kufri 7.3 degrees, Manali five degrees, , Dalhousie 7.5 degrees, Shimla 8.5 degrees, Solan ten degrees, Sundernagar in Mandi 11 degrees, Bhuntar in Kullu 10 degrees, Palampur 9.4 degrees, Hamirpur 11.7 degrees and Chamba 11 degrees.
Minimum temperature of Dharmshala was 9.8 degrees, Kangra and Mandi 12.9 degrees each, Bilaspur 15 degrees, Una 12. 8 degrees and Nahan in Sirmaur 15.6Â degrees respectively.
Life out of gear
The inclement weather along with heavy rain, snowfall and thunderstorm kept the normal life out of gears as 41 roads( 39 link and two NH) are snowbound and power supply disrupted due to heavy rain and thunderstorm in 57 areas mostly in Lahaul Spiti, Pangi, Manali and Kullu region.
Deputy Commissioner Lahaul-Spiti Neeraj Kumar said that National highway no 3 Manali-Leh is snowbound between Darcha to Sarchu and National Highway No 505 is blocked from Gramphu to Losar.
Land slides disrupted vehicular traffic at Tonidevi in Hamirpur district after a landslide.
The Met Office forecasts mainly dry weather in the next 24 hrs .
