Himachal: Residents cheer first major white snowfall, avalanche alert
Himachal: Residents cheer first major white snowfall, avalanche alert
Shimla, Feb 1. Many places in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh have been under a thick blanket of snowfall for the past two days, ushering in joyous celebrations among the people.
This is the first major spell of snowfall in the district this season.
A moderate snowfall occurred in many parts of Himachal Pradesh, as it is a lifeline for farmers and gardeners.
There was record-breaking snowfall in Pangi Valley, the tribal area of Chamba district, on Thursday. Killard, the headquarters of the valley, has received around 1 foot of fresh snowfall.
There has been about two feet of fresh snowfall in the upper areas. The valley is cut off from the rest of the world.
At present, people from 19 panchayats in the valley are snowbound in their homes. Roads and electricity systems have been disrupted.
Vehicular traffic was halted in Pangi Valley due to continuous snowfall. Karuni Seri, including Kumar, Parmar, Sural, Chasag, Hilutwan, and Shun, have received up to two feet of fresh snowfall.
15 electricity transformers in the valley have shut down. The electricity supply to Pangi Panchayats Rei, Thanthal, Shaur, Kumar, Parmar, and Pregra has been disrupted.
Due to power failure, the villagers falling under the jurisdiction of these panchayats may have to spend cold nights in darkness for the next few days, officials said.
On the other hand, Tehsildar Pangi Shanta Kumar said that due to continuous snowfall in the valley, people have been instructed not to go towards sensitive areas.
The administration has issued an alert after continuous snowfall in Pangi Valley. The heads of 19 panchayats are being contacted.
The administration has formed a team of local youth in every panchayat during the disaster. Which will always be ready to deal with the disaster caused by snowfall in the village.
At the same time, connection with the rest of the world is completely cut off from Pangi. At present, there are only two ways out of Pangi. The route via Kullu Manali is closed due to a heavy landslide at a place called Rahuli in Lahaul. The route via Jammu and Kashmir is closed due to heavy snowfall.
The danger of avalanches looms in many villages in Pangi.
Once again, the threat of an avalanche is looming over Murch village in Gramme Panchayat Sechu of Pangi lley. Because disasters like the iceberg have happened twice in Murch village. In the year 2020, there was about 6 feet of snow in Murch village. During this time, the iceberg that came to the village rendered five families homeless.
The village is at an altitude of 12,000 m. In such a situation, till now, there has been snowfall of up to three feet. About 35 families live in Murch village. The village panchayat is about 8 kilometres away. However, the ward member informed the administration about the situation in the village.
According to the state disaster management authority, about 38 major roads are snow-bound, including 12 in Sub Division Chamba, ten in Pangi, seven in Tissa, six in Dalhousie, and three in Bhattiyat.Bhairagarh-Killar via Sach Road, Chamba Jot Road, Tissa Chamba Road, and Khajjiar Dalhousie Road are closed due to snowfall.
There are 237 distribution transmissions. Regions where power supply had been disrupted, including 88 DTR in Salooni, 67 in Pangu, 54 in Tissa, 16 in Chamba, and 12 in Bhattiyat Division Chamba.
