Shimla: Biting cold continued unabated as mercury remained below normal despite sunshine in most parts of Himachal Pradesh where three persons have died in the heavy snowstorm over the last few days.

The minimum temperature stayed at minus 1.8 degree and minus 2 degree Celsius at the state capital Shimla and key tourist resort of Manali which experienced 10 cm and 20 cm of fresh snow.
Water pipes were frozen and thick ground frost made roads slippery, affecting vehicular traffic.
The vehicular movement remained affected in Shimla in the mornings and even local buses did not ply as the roads were covered with a thin layer of snow. The normal vehicular traffic in adjoining tourist resorts of Wildflower Hall, Kufri, Narkanda and other places like Sarahan and Sangla was yet to be restored and efforts were being made to clear the snow to restore road connectivity to interior areas.
Meanwhile, reports from Chamba said that three persons died during the recent snowstorm-- two in Kidi belt and one in snowbound Kandla-- where a dozen houses also collapsed due to heavy snow. The main roads in the district had been opened but vehicular traffic was yet to be normalised and link roads in the interiors areas were still covered with thick blanket of snow.
PTI