Snowfall in Himachal, CM cancels Manali visit (Lead)

Shimla, Jan 2 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh's tourist destinations Shimla and Narkanda experienced snowfall Friday, while other areas of the state saw intermittent rainfall. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh cancelled his Manali visit due to inclement weather.

While Shimla had mild snowfall, places in the upper reaches like Narkanda, Jubbal, Kotkhai and Khada Pathar experienced moderate snowfall, a met official told IANS here.

Manali is yet to get snow this time but the hills overlooking the picturesque town were wrapped in a white blanket.

Incessant snow hampered vehicular traffic on the highways in Shimla and Kinnaur districts.

Official sources said the chief minister was scheduled to fly in a helicopter from Rohru town in Shimla district to Manali to inaugurate a five-day winter carnival. The chopper could not fly due to inclement weather.

However, he had to return from Rohru to Shimla, where he went to inaugurate government projects, by road.

The Met office has forecast more rain and snowfall in the next two days.

"Heavy rainfall and snowfall may occur at isolated places in Shimla, Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur districts and parts of Kullu and Chamba districts," a Met office statement said.

Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place in the state with a low of minus 10.1 degrees Celsius.

Shimla recorded the minimum temperature of 5.2 degrees Celsius, whereas the maximum temperature was 10.8 degrees Celsius.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district recorded a low of 0.4 degrees Celsius, while it was 4.6 degrees Celsius at Dharamsala, 5.6 degrees Celsius in Dalhousie and 1.2 degrees Celsius in Chamba.