Traffic movement at Tribhuvan Highway obstructed as snow covers the road
KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 29
Incessant snowfall in many places in the mountainous and high hilly region of the country since Sunday evening has affected life.
Heavy snowfall at Phungling in Taplejung district of Province 1 since Sunday evening has led to a sharp drop in mercury in the mountainous region. Heavy snowfall also occurred at Ghunsa and other areas in Phaktanglung rural municipality that is situated at an altitude above 3,400 metres from the sea level.
Although moderate snowfall started in Ghunsa last week, heavy snowfall began last night, affecting life in the areas, said Pema Sherpa, a local.
He said people have not been able to go outdoors due to continuous snowfall and accumulation of thick snow outside. He said children and elderly people had been affected the most due to the freezing cold.
Most parts of Humla district in Karnali have also received heavy snowfall, affecting life in Simkot, the district headquarters, and other areas of the district. The district headquarters is blanketed by snow as it started snowing continuously since the morning today. Two feet thick snow has accumulated there, plunging the mercury to minus 12 degrees Celsius.
The northern belt of the district has received heavy snowfall while the southern belt has been getting rainfall since the morning. Four feet snow has accumulated in Limi and Muchu settlements in Namkha Rural Municipality in the northern belt, said Chhapal Lama, a local of Muchu. The rivers, streams, and water taps have frozen.
The temperature in Muchu has dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius.
A report from Makawanpur said traffic movement on Tribhuvan Highway in Makawanpur district was obstruct-
ed today due to snowfall at Simbhanjyang and Aghor in the district since last night, according to Inspector Shreeram Timalsina of Area Police Office, Palung.
Traffic movement was halted to prevent road accidents as roads could be slippery due to snowfall, added Inspector Timalsina.
The snow would be cleared off the road once the weather starts improving, he said.
A report from Dadeldhura said snowfall had occurred in the highland areas of the hilly districts, including Dadeldhura, Doti, Baitadi, Darchula, Bajhanag, and Bajura, the districts in the mountainous region of Sudurpaschim province since last night.
Vehicular movement on Bhimdatta and Jayaprithvi highways has been obstructed due to the accumulation of snow at several sections of the highways. Bhimdutta Highway has been blocked by snow at Hagulte and Sahukharka area. Several vehicles have been stranded there.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 30, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
