Snow snaps almost 700 road links in Himachal Pradesh

SHIMLA: Nearly 200 road links in Himachal Pradesh were reopened on Wednesday, a day after widespread snow and rain blocked 690 highways and links and snapped power supply in several areas.
Pegging the initial loss to roads at Rs 51.92 crore, the public works department (PWD) has deployed 350 machines for restoration work. The officials said 199 roads would be opened by Thursday and remaining 291 thereafter.They said the extent of damage to roads and losses would be clear once they make the final assessment.
Meanwhile, chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday reviewed the losses, rescue and restoration operations and directed the officials to restore electricity, water supply and roads at the earliest.
According to Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board, 5,058 distribution transformers were hit by snowfall out of which 2,625 transformers had been restored. The south zone has been severely affected during this snowfall. In all, 189 irrigation and public health water supply schemes were hit and the total loss assessed at Rs 3 crore. However, the number may rise as some of the areas are still inaccessible, officials said. The restoration will be done within next two days, they added.
Keylong town in Lahaul-Spiti district saw over three feet of snowfall. Officials said bad weather has affected the road network in the higher reaches of Kinnaur, Shimla, Chamba, Kullu and Sirmaur districts and efforts were being made to reopen the roads.
Solang valley and Kothi have received over 90cm of snow in the last 48 hours. Manali town received 30cm more snow. Dalhousie in Chamba received over 60cm of snow in the last 48 hours. All roads in Dalhousie and Khajjiar are lying blocked. Over 45cm snow in Shimla has disrupted life. Power supply and traffic was partially hit in Shimla. Kufri has received 55cm of snow. Kinnaur also donned a thick blanket of snow while Kalpa in Kinnaur recorded 40cm snow. Additional 33cm snow added to the thickness of the existing cover in Keylong. Despite this, tourists are having fun in Himachal.
Over 75cm of snow on Jalori pass has disconnected Anni subdivision from district headquarters Kullu. Residents of Manali villages could be seen removing snow from their roofs all day. Most parts of Manali have had no power supply since Tuesday night.
The Kullu-Manali national highway was opened in the afternoon. Roads beyond Manali are still blocked and administration had deployed machines to clear the snow. As vehicles were slipping on the snow, roads leading to Manali witnessed worst traffic jams since Tuesday afternoon.