Moderate to heavy snowfall continued in high hills and tribal areas of Himachal Pradesh on Thursday while the state capital received the first snowfall of the season bringing cheers to residents, tourists and farmers. Shimla was wrapped in a thin blanket of snow on Thursday while the 5-km stretch between Kufri and Fagu was entirely covered in snow.
Braving cold, tourists and residents thronged the Mall Road and Ridge in the heart of the city to enjoy the snow.
Shimla was lashed by severe hailstorm on Wednesday night followed by intermittent rains.
Over 240 roads, including six national highways, in the state have been closed for vehicular traffic and 677 transformers got disrupted following heavy snowfall and rain, according to the state emergency operation centre. A maximum of 165 roads remain blocked in tribal districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti, the centre said.
The vehicular traffic in the upper Shimla area beyond Dhalli came to a standstill as the roads got blocked due to heavy snow in Kufri, Fagu and Narkanda.