Dehradun: The high altitude areas in Garhwal Himalayas were covered with a thick shroud of snow today even as Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag and Pithoragarh districts of Uttarakhand received fresh snowfall and the plains were lashed by showers coupled with hail, adding to the chill.
The famous Himalayan shrines of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri besides winter games' destination Auli lay under several feet of snow with the higher reaches of Garhwal Himalayas receiving fresh snowfall this morning, Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre officials said.
Badrinath and Auli in Chamoli district are covered under layers of snow but none of the highways is obstructed, Chamoli's Disaster Management official Nand Kishore Joshi told PTI on phone.
Harshil, Dharali, Hanumanchatti and Gomukh from where the Ganga originates in Uttarkashi district are wrapped under layers of snow, whereas the plain areas in the district were lashed by heavy overnight rains coupled with hail which continued till the wee hours today, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Indudhar Bodai said.
Places hit by pellets of frozen rain in the district included Maneri, Mantli, Dunda and Chinyalisaur, he said.
Dehradun also received heavy overnight showers and the sky remained overcast throughout the day, adding to chill.
There was no report of snow avalanches from the high altitude districts where intense avalanche activity was said to be likely between February 1-3, officials said.
Though all precautionary measures are in place to deal with an emergency, there is no report of a snow avalanche anywhere, DMMC Executive Director Pitush Rautela said.
Forces deployed in the high altitude districts of Uttarakhand have been on high alert since February 1 in view of the possibility of snow avalanches in places located above 2,500 metres.
The alert was issued for three days ending today following a communication from Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), Chandigarh.
This was the second such alert for the high altitude districts of Uttarakhand in less than a fortnight.
A similar alert had been sounded in these districts early last month following a communication from the Centre hinting at the possibility of snow avalanches in the higher reaches from January 21-23.
