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Shimla, Feb 8 - Heavy to moderate snowfall in the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh Monday disrupted road connectivity in the state, an official here said.
'The traffic on National Highway 22 was disrupted beyond Narkanda - after heavy snowfall. No state-run buses would operate on the highway during night beyond Shimla,' a government spokesperson said.
He said the traffic towards tribal Kinnaur district has been temporarily diverted via Basantpur to Kingal from Shimla.
Pangi in Chamba district saw heavy snowfall and has been cut off from the rest of the country since Sunday.
'All the road links to Pangi have been cut off due to heavy snowfall,' Pangi's Resident Commissioner Gopal Sharma told IANS.
The tribal Lahaul and Spiti has already been cut off from rest of the country since Dec 10 last year due to closure of the Rohtang Pass.
The weather bureau in Shimla said it was snowing heavily in the upper reaches of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Chamba and Kullu districts, pushing the mercury down.
'Keylong and Udaipur - experienced more than two-and-a-half feet of snow, whereas Rohtang Pass - in Kullu district saw more than four feet of snow,' said Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office in Shimla.
The picturesque tourist resort of Manali, around 300 km from the state capital, has been experiencing heavy snow since Sunday night.
'It started snowing in Manali around midnight after intermittent rain Sunday morning. So far, Manali and nearby areas have received more than three feet of snow,' he said.
However, lower areas of the state, including Shimla -, Solan -, Sundernagar -, Bhuntar -, Kalpa - and Dharamsala -, have been receiving moderate to heavy rainfall throughout the day.
Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district saw a low of minus 4.9 degrees, while it was minus 4 degrees at Kalpa in Kinnaur district and 3.6 degrees at Bhuntar in Kullu district.
Shimla recorded a minimum of 4.7 degrees Celsius, a fall from Sunday's 8.1 degrees.
'During the past 24 hours, precipitation occurred at most places over the state. Due to continuous overcast and rainfall, day temperature dropped by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius in the state,' Singh said.
He said another western disturbances would approach the region between Feb 11 and 12, resulting in heavy snowfall and rainfall in the state.
The met office forecast heavy snowfall in the higher reaches and rainfall in the lower areas Tuesday.
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