Thaindian News

Shimla, Feb 13 (IANS) The honeymooners’ paradise of Manali in Himachal Pradesh Sunday witnessed moderate snowfall, cheering up the hospitality sector as tourists started pouring in to celebrate Valentine’s Day Monday.The nearby hills of state capital Shimla too got another spell of snow, turning them more picturesque.

“The hills overlooking Manali, like the Solang ski slopes and the Rohtang Pass (52 km from Manali), have been experiencing heavy snow,” a weather official here said.

“Manali and its nearby areas will have a good spell of snowfall till Monday. There are chances that Shimla too would experience a mild spell of snow early Monday,” he added.

As news of the snowfall flashed in the plains, tourists started descending on Manali.

“Love’s already in the air with the arrival of a good number of tourists, especially the newly wed and youngsters. We are hopeful of getting a record footfall to enjoy white Valentine’s Day (Feb 14),” District Tourism Officer Rajeshwar Goel told IANS over phone from Manali.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district experienced more than 13.9 cm of snow, whereas Narkanda, 65 km from here, saw moderate snow.

“The higher reaches in Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti, Kullu and Chamba districts witnessed moderate to heavy snowfall during the past 24 hours (since Saturday). Such conditions would continue till Monday,” the official added.

The state’s lower areas, including Dharamsala, Shimla, Solan, Nahan, Chamba and Mandi received moderate rain.

However, continuous rain has disrupted air traffic in Shimla and Bhuntar, near Kullu. “Flights from Delhi to Kullu and Shimla could not be operated due to rain,” an airport official here said.

Shimla Sunday recorded a low of 4.7 degrees Celsius, while it was 0.6 degrees at Kalpa, 8.5 degrees in Bhuntar and 2.5 degrees in Dharamsala.

These towns saw a sharp fall in the day temperature. They recorded a high of 7.6 degrees Celsius, 1 degree, 9 degrees and 16.8 degrees Celsius respectively.