Tourists flock to Srinagar, Shimla to enjoy first snowfall

Srinagar/Shimla, Dec.31 (ANI): Scores of tourists thronged various hill stations in Srinagar and Shimla to enjoy the first snowfall of the season.

Jammu and Kashmir witnessed the maiden snowfall of the season on Thursday.

A thick blanket of snow over the Srinagar is giving it a wonderful look attracting a larger number of tourists.

Tourists have come from different parts of the country and from abroad.

"I am enjoying this a lot, actually I came here to see this. I wanted to enjoy snowfall and also without snowfall your trip to Kashmir is not complete. So, it is very pleasant and very nice. I have seen this frozen Dal Lake and it is very nice," said Tejaswani, a tourist from Mumbai.

This snowfall has brought the two-month long dry spell to an end.

Due to heavy snowfall, however, the highway linking Jammu with Srinagar was closed for traffic on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Shimla also witnessed the snowfall and the tourists enjoyed watching the snowflakes.

After the fresh snowfall on Friday morning, tourists braved the weather with hopes of heralding the New Year late in the night.

Linda, a tourist from Australia, was excited with the weather and termed the climate of Shimla as pleasant despite being very cold.

"Here in Shimla it is freezing cold and the snow has come for the New Year. It is beautiful here at the Shimla mountaintop. It is lovely place to be and I am just having a wonderful stay here," said Linda.

The civic authorities have begun snow clearance operations by deploying trucks fitted with shovels to the bumpers.

Mild snowfall in the higher reaches of the Himalayas and intermittent rain in foothills of the state, including Shimla, Kasauli, Kufri, Palampur and Chamba districts of Himachal Pradesh, brought the temperatures down sharply. (ANI)