After having failed to cheer-up hundreds of tourists and revellers on Christmas, snowfall greeted the famous hill destinations of Shimla and Manali on Sunday, bringing delight to holiday makers .
The tourist destinations of Dalhousie , Mcleodganj and places like Narkanda and Kufri (Shimla) also experienced a good spell of snow .
Earlier in the day the sky was overcast with clouds and rains brought down the temperature in Himachal Pradesh as higher reaches of Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur also had been experiencing continued spell of the snow .
Snowfall started later in the day in Manali as the town and its Mall road was buzzing with tourists in the hope of exuberance and excitement of the weather change” said Pawan Sharma, a tourists guideline at Manali .
In Shimla , the Ridge and Mall road saw the tourists rushing from their hotels to experience the snow charm though a white Christmas had eluded them ,24 hours back.
Rohit Garg, a tourist in Shimla said he had arrived on Saturday evening and went around the Ridge and Christ Church but did not see a chance of snowfall .
Today, after he returned to the town ,after a quick trip to Naldehra ,his family,including kids ,were surprised to see the snowfall happening in Shimla ,and nearby places like Fagu,Kufri and Narkanda .
Superintendent of police Dr Monika Bhutunguru said the snowfall was continuing at Narkanda ,where three to four inches of snow has been recorded .The roads leading to Kufri-Narkanda has become very slippery and thus traffic has been diverted towards Sainj.
Shimla on Saturday had witnessed a huge traffic jam on the roads due to the arrival of more than 4,500 tourists vehicles via Solan –Shoghi road , the National Highway .
There are chances of more footfall on December 27 due to snowfall .
Lahaul-Spiti police have put an alert for the tourists advising them against travel from Solang Nullah to South Portal of the Rohtang Pass due to heavy snowfall .The road is extremely unfit for vehicles or driving towards North portal .
In Mandi,where the Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to reach on December 27 , the National Highway leading to Kullu-Manali is witnessing a massive traffic congestion because of increased tourists mobility to Kullu-Manali .
Most hotels in Shimla, Kullu-Manali ,Dharamshala and Dalhousie are packed despite the fresh fears of the Omicron virus .
" We have not imposed any restrictions on the tourists on their arrivals to the state .They are welcome to visit the state but should strictly follow the Covid appropriate behavior ,avoid going to crowded places and wear face masks" says Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur .
