Locals were also seen walking on slippery roads and reported a lack of essential commodities like bread and milk from some areas of Shimla.
Shimla received the heaviest snowfall of the season, which disrupted life in the city. About forty roads were blocked in the Nahan Sangrah, Shillai, Sarahan, and Rajgarh subdivisions, known for the royal grandeur of its buildings and institutions of power, when the city served as the summer capital of British India.
As news of the snowfall spread, District Disaster Management Authority Kullu said that vehicles in Manali are not being allowed beyond the Green Tax Barrier.
With the minimum temperature of Manali recorded at -7.8-degree Celsius, the lowest in the season. Many tourists were seen battling the slippery roads on Thursday. Hotels and houses had no water to drink, cook, or bath as all the taps and water supply pipes had frozen completely.
People were struggling to de-freeze pipes by pouring hot water until noon. In Shimla, residents struggled for water as intense cold conditions left the water supply pipes frozen.
According to reports, Manali and Dalhousie, according to officials, said that 879 roads in the state were blocked due to heavy snowfall. A total of 588 routes were closed, 2,436 power supply lines were disrupted, and 33 water supply schemes were disrupted.
As Shimla Deputy Commissioner Amit Kashyap said – “We have started traffic on the Kalka-Shimla highway, and efforts are on to clear other roads as well. Various link roads in the area are still jammed. Roads are getting empty on the war footing.” In addition to 99 JCBs and 43 other large machines, 9 bulldozers and robots have been pressed into service to restore road connectivity on a war footing, he added.