Himachal still paralysed by snowfall , freezing cold

By: Baldev S Chauhan

Shimla : Despite the bright sun in the past three days life remains disrupted in much of Himachal Pradesh by the heavy snowfall and blizzards which hit the state over the weekend .

Over half the state remains cut off from the outside world as the relentless icy cold continues with more snow forecast by the weather man from Sunday.

Much of Shimla , Kullu and Chamba districts are still cut of . While parts of Sirmaur and Mandi remain cut off from the rest of the state.

And the twin tribal districts of Kinnaur , Lahaul & Spiti remain entirely cut off from the rest of the world. With talk of a helicopter flight with supplies and medicines to Keylong today if the weather permits .

Adding to the misery of the people is lack of electricity which has not been restored in many places .

Heavy snow coupled with blizzards have snapped power cables in many areas forcing people to remain in darkness and freezing conditions .

Life has not returned to normal even in the state capital Shimla which received 50 cm of snowfall .

Many of the higher parts of the town went without water again due to freezing of water pipes after yet another bone chilling night .

Power shortages have reduced the voltage considerably making if difficult of use electrical heaters and other appliances many residents complained .

Traffic has still not been restored in many parts of Shimla and people can be seen trudging on the icy roads with caution .

In the last couple of days tourists have started arriving in large numbers to see snow in Shimla and surrounding areas .

Manali also experienced the coldest night of the season with the mercury dipping to minus 6.6 celcius and the town remains deep under snow .

The road to this popular resort town has still not been restored from the rest of the Kullu valley .

In Keylong , headquarters of Lahaul & Spiti people groaned in cold as the mercury plummeted to minus 15 C .

As state assembly elections are scheduled later this year , the state government has making a lot of noise that it is prepared to tackle the snowfall .

But despite the over-equipped and over-staffed government machinery the system has been slow to respond and restore life back to normal .