130 roads remain blocked in Himachal as cold wave conditions persist

Shimla, Feb 11 (PTI) Cold wave conditions persisted in several parts of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday including Una, Kangra and Bilaspur districts, with Kukumseri in Lahaul and Spiti shivering at minus 11.3 degrees Celsius, the meteorological department here said.

A total of 130 roads, including three national highways, in the state remained closed on Sunday morning, while 62 transformers and five water supply schemes were disrupted, according to the state emergency operation centre.

Majority of these roads are link roads in the interior of high altitude areas where heavy snowfall took place in the first week of this month.

A maximum of 68 roads are closed in tribal Lahaul and Spiti, 25 in Kullu, 14 in Mandi, 13 in Chamba, nine in Shimla and one in Kangra district.

According to the MeT department, fog reduced visibility to 500 metres during the morning hours in Sundernagar, Mandi and Bilaspur.

Kukumseri in Lahaul and Spiti was the coldest in the state recording a low of minus 11.3 degrees Celsius, while Dhaulakuan in Sirmaur district was the hottest at 24.6 degrees Celsius.

The MeT office has predicted dry weather in the state till February 17.

There was no significant change in the minimum and maximum temperatures. PTI