Himachal Governor, CM enjoy snowfall

Shimla, Jan 9 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and Chief Minister Jairam Thakur on Sunday enjoyed snowfall in the state capital by hurling snowballs.

The Governor along with the Chief Minister visited the Raj Bhawan complex and had the experience of snow.

Accompanying by his Cabinet colleagues, Suresh Bhardwaj, Ramlal Markanda and Rajiv Saizal, state BJP President Suresh Kashyap, the Chief Minister shared his past experiences with the Governor regarding the snowfall.

He also apprised about the benefits of snowfall for the farmers and orchardists. The Chief Minister said snowfall also helps in dealing with the shortage of water in summers, particularly in the state capital.

He said the administration was fully prepared and active in dealing with heavy snowfall to provide relief to the local people from the hardships caused by snow and elaborate arrangements have been made to maintain the basic facilities like road, electricity, water, among others.

Himachal Pradesh on Sunday continued to experience moderate to heavy snowfall, temporarily closing over 400 roads, officials said here.

Roads in Kinnaur district and towns in Shimla district such as Narkanda, Jubbal, Kharapathar, Rohru and Chopal have been cut off with heavy snow cover piled on roads, a government official told IANS.

While picturesque tourist resort Kufri recorded the highest snowfall in the state at 55 cm, it was 30 cm in Dalhousie, 21.6 cm in Kalpa, 15 cm in Shimla and 2 cm in Manali.

The state capital recorded a low of minus 0.2 degree Celsius.