SHIMLA: With the cold wave intensifying in Himachal Pradesh on Monday, there were reports of heavy snowfall in the higher regions of the State including the entire tribal belt. Shimla and surrounding areas received intermittent rain, bringing the day temperature down to as low as 8 degrees C in the evening.

The tribal valleys of Lahaul, Spiti, Pin and Pangi were experiencing heavy snowfall since Sunday and the 13,050-foot-high Rohtang Pass recorded over two- and- a- half feet of snow on Monday morning. Sources in the weather office said over 150 cm of snow had been recorded in Losar village of Pin Valley, while Lahaul Valley had recorded 30 cm of snow followed by 28 cm at Dhundi in Kullu district, 23 cm at Patseo in Lahaul Spiti district and seven cm at Kalpa in Kinnuar district.

The sporadic snowfall continuing in the tribal areas brought the minimum temperature down to 5 to 15 degrees at several places in the tribal district.

The Kinner Kailash peak and Srikhand in Kinnuar district, mighty Rohtang Pass, Kunzum Pass, Saach Pass, Dhauladhar in Kangra and Churdhar ranges in Sirmaur district were also experiencing heavy snowfall. The tribal valleys of Lahaul and Pangi were cut off from the rest of the world following landslides at several places triggered by heavy snowfall during the last 48 hours, according to the reports reaching here.

Parts of Manali, Palampur, Dharamshala and other mid hills had isolated rain followed by strong icy winds. Snow clouds hovered over Shimla and several other adjoining tourist places like Chail and Narkanda throughout the day.

An early snowfall has been predicted by experts this year in Shimla and adjoining places. Very few locals and tourists were seen in the famous haunts of The Mall and The Ridge on Monday due to icy winds and untimely rain.

PTI adds:

Jalandhar: One person died in a village here allegedly due to severe cold wave which engulfed the northern region for the past few days.

Deceased was yet to identified and was allegedly under the influence of liquor, police sources said adding that medical experts in the local civil hospital suspected that the person might have died due to severe cold wave in the night.

After registering a case under 174 of CrPC, efforts were on to identify the body, sources added.

Meanwhile, minimum temperature in the city was recorded as 11.4 degree celsius at Adampur air force station and it was drizzling all over the day.

Traffic restricted

Srinagar: With thick snow gathering at certain areas, only one-way traffic was on Monday allowed on 300-km Srinagar-Jammu national highway as a precautionary measure, official sources said.

About eight inches of snow had accumulated on the ground at Jawahar tunnel, forcing the authorities to restrict traffic on the highway, which is the only road that links Kashmir to the rest of the country, they said.

No vehicle was allowed to move on the highway from Srinagar, but the traffic on the arterial road from Jammu was allowed, they said.

However, there has been no fresh snowfall in the region since Sunday night.

The minimum temperature recorded this morning was one degree Celisus, 1.8 degree less than Sunday night's temperature, a spokesman from the weather office said, adding the heavy cloud cover will continue as there would be more snow and rain in the next 24 hours.

The winter vacation in educational institutions in the State has been advanced by a fortnight starting from December 6, 2006 to February 19, 2007, due to intense cold conditions.

A recruitment camp for Indian Reserve Battalion scheduled for Monday was cancelled in Baramulla district, Deputy Inspector General of Police North Kashmir A Lone said, adding other dates for it would be announced later. PTI

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