Fresh Spell of Rain, Snow Lashes Uttarakhand, Highways Blocked

The hilly areas of Uttarakhand on Wednesday were lashed by renewed spell of snowfall while foothills and plains experienced moderate to heavy rains, intensifying cold conditions in the state. Roads in popular hill stations like Mussoorie, Chakrata, Munsyari, Mukteshwar were blocked after fresh spell of snowfall. Nearly half a dozen roads, including Gangotri and Yamunotri national highways, were blocked owing to snowfall in Uttarkashi district.

Restoration work at the Yamunotri shrine, which was devastated in July 2018 due to flash floods, has also been disrupted.

According to regional meteorological centre, Devprayag recorded 40mm rain, Kritinagar 30mm, Gairsain 20mm, Nainital 20mm, Pauri 20mm, Tehri 20mm, Dehradun 6.4mm and Haldwani 10mm. Dehradun also experienced a spell of hailstorm on Wednesday afternoon. Met department had issued a warning regarding hailstorm in Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital, Udham Singh Nagar, Champawat and Pithoragarh districts. Mercury also dropped in both hills and plains of Uttarakhand following rain and snowfall in the state. Dehradun recorded the maximum temperature of 15.4 degrees Celsius, eight notches below normal, while minimum settled at 9.3 degrees.

Spokesperson of Yamunotri Temple Samiti Bageshwar Uniyal, said, “Even though the Yamunotri shrine was devastated in July 2018, the government agencies started the restoration work just two months before the reopening of shrine. We are not sure if the administration will be able to complete the work on time owing to the bad weather.”

“We have recorded widespread rainfall across Uttarakhand. Higher reaches of the state received snowfall as well. The weather is likely to improve at most of the places from Thursday onwards,” said Bikram Singh, director of regional meteorological centre.

Mussoorie witnessed its fifth major snowfall this winter. Strong winds led to a sharp dip in the mercury. Occasional spells of snow lashed the queen of hills throughout the day. Snowfall began at around 5:00am on Wednesday.

The ongoing cold spell is proving difficult for students as board exams are about to start. Normal life is disrupted and most of the residents chose to stay in the warm comforts of their homes. “We are worried that this cold will affect the performance of my child in board exams,” said Arvind, a worried parent.

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This article was originally published in The Times of India