Himachal Pradesh Faces Major Infrastructure Challenges After Recent Snowfall
Road connectivity and power supply remained severely disrupted across Himachal Pradesh on Sunday following recent heavy snowfall, creating significant challenges for residents and authorities alike. The State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) reported extensive blockages and outages affecting multiple districts, with recovery efforts underway in the mountainous region.
Widespread Road Blockages Across Multiple Districts
According to the SEOC, three major highways and 832 link roads were completely blocked due to the snowfall. The district of Lahaul-Spiti was the worst affected with 280 road closures, followed closely by Shimla with 234 blocked roads. Other districts experiencing substantial disruptions included Mandi with 110 closures, Chamba with 78, Kullu with 64, Sirmaur with 41, Kinnaur with 18, and Una with 3 blocked roads.
The highway network also suffered significant closures, with National Highway 305 at Jalori Jot completely inaccessible. Additionally, the crucial Koksar–Rohtang Pass stretch and the Gramphu–Batal road remained closed, further isolating remote communities and hampering transportation across the state.
Power Supply Severely Affected in Multiple Regions
Power supply was extensively disrupted in several areas, with 1,942 distribution transformer regions (DTRs) reported as non-functional. Shimla district recorded the highest number of affected transformers at 789, followed by Sirmaur with 354 non-functional DTRs. Mandi district reported 284 transformer regions without power, while Kullu had 174 affected areas and Chamba experienced disruptions in 78 transformer regions.
The combined impact of road blockages and power outages has created challenging conditions for residents, particularly in remote and high-altitude areas where temperatures have dropped significantly following the snowfall. Emergency services and restoration teams are working to clear roads and restore electricity, but the scale of the disruption suggests recovery may take considerable time.
The situation highlights the vulnerability of Himachal Pradesh's infrastructure to extreme weather events, particularly during winter months when snowfall is common in the Himalayan region. Authorities are monitoring the situation closely and coordinating response efforts across affected districts.
