Snowfall in Rohtang, Manali-Leh road closed

Shimla, Dec 8 (PTI) Cold wave sweeps through tribal areas of Himachal Pradesh, as Rohtang Pass near Manali in Kullu district and other higher areas received snow on Monday.

The Manali-Leh road has been officially closed for vehicular traffic beyond Darcha due to bad conditions, officials said.

Earlier, the Lahaul-Spiti District Disaster Management Authority closed the Gramphoo-Losar road to traffic. The road that connects the state and Ladakh remains closed every winter.

The Manali-Leh road will now be officially reopened in May-June next year, said Lahaul-Spiti Deputy Commissioner Kiran Bhadana.

Meanwhile, fresh snow at Rohtang Pass near Manali brought smiles to the faces of the locals, even though it led to slippery roads and restricted vehicular traffic up to Marhi.

Hemraj Thakur, a resident of Manali, hoped for snow in Manali as well. "I hope to see a 'white' Christmas and New Year," he said.

Kanav, another local, said snow had brought cheer to the Manali natives.

Dola Thakur and Gautam Nath Thakur witnessed the snowfall in the morning and said there was a mix of sunshine and clouds throughout the day.

Shallow fog was observed in Mandi while gusty winds with wind speed 43-44 km per hour lashed Tabo, Kufri and Reckongpeo.

Kukumseri in the tribal Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest at night at minus 6.2 degrees Celsius.

The local met office has issued a yellow warning of dense fog in some parts of the reservoir area of the Bhakra dam in Bilaspur district and some parts of the Balh valley in Mandi district on Tuesday. PTI BPL VN VN