Temperatures up, yet Himachal’s Lahaul Valley snowbound

KEYLONG - There has been an unusual rise in temperatures after a long and cold winter but people of this town in Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul Valley are still snowbound and have been cut off from the rest of the country for over four months now.

Heavy snowfall in the winter led to the closure of the road network between Keylong, the district headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti, and Manali in Kullu district. And the majestic Rohtang Pass (13,050 feet), which separates Lahaul and Spiti from Kullu, is still shut due to the snow.

“The people of the entire Lahaul Valley have been cut off from the rest of the world since Dec 10, 2009. Their only mode of transportation is the helicopter,” Ritesh Chauhan, deputy commissioner of Lahaul and Spiti, told IANS.

“The snow-clearing operation that started March 3 is still on and the road connectivity would be restored any time this week,” he said.

The town, located at an altitude of 3,156 metres (10,354 feet), lies on the Manali-Leh National Highway-21, some 450 km from state capital Shimla.

Said Ravinder Negi, a government employee posted in Keylong: “We have been literally holed up for more than four months. We are waiting for the road link to be restored.”

S.K. Doon of the General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF), a government agency that maintains the Manali-Leh highway, said that though the snow clearing work was on, it had been hampered due to a sudden change in climatic conditions.

“Teams have been working on both sides of the Rohtang Pass. A small stretch of five kilometres is left. This is a crucial phase as a sudden drop in temperature can trigger winter-like conditions. Slippery icy tracks and high velocity winds make the job really tough for our men,” he said.

In some areas on the Manali-Keylong highway, snow had accumulated up to 20 feet, Doon said. He, however, added that the road link would be restored soon.

The meteorological office in Shimla said the Rohtang Pass witnessed heavy snowfall during winter.

“Normally, the Rohtang Pass gets 20 to 30 feet of snow during winter. This year too the region experienced heavy snow,” said meteorological office director Manmohan Singh.

He added that the pass remained closed to traffic for over five months in a year due to snow.

According to Chauhan, the road network within the Lahaul Valley had been restored but connectivity between Lahaul and Spiti Valley was yet to be made functional at the Kunzum Pass (4,551 metre).

Despite being still snowbound, Lahaul has seen an unusual rise in temperatures. Keylong Sunday saw a maximum temperature of 16.5 degrees Celsius, five degrees above the average for this time of the year. The minimum was 5.3, three degrees higher than the normal.

Chauhan said many farmers had started sowing seeds in their fields as the temperatures increased and the snow began melting.

The entire Lahaul and Spiti district is populated mainly by tribals. The climatic conditions of the district are harsh as much of the land forms part of a cold desert where the mercury drops below minus 20 degrees Celsius during winter.

The Buddhist-dominated district attracts globe-trotters not only for nature-based activities but also to ancient monasteries like Tabo, Dhankar, Gungri, Lidang and Hikkam.