Nearby hills of Manali get snow

Shimla, March 17: The hills of picturesque tourist resort Manali Monday saw moderate spells of snow, surprising people celebrating Holi.

While Shimla was cloudy, upper areas like Kufri, Narkanda, Jubbal and Kotkhai got mild rains, according to a Met official here. The minimum temperatures across the state rose marginally.

The hills overlooking Manali like the Solang ski slopes got snow. It rained in Manali town.

The high hills in Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Kullu, Shimla and Chamba districts have been experiencing light to moderate snowfall since early Monday, said a weather department official.

Tourist Deepak Ahuja said: "We are lucky to see snowfall in Solang."

The minimum temperature in Shimla was 13.7 degrees Celsius and 8 degrees in Manali.

Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place in the state with a minimum temperature of 1.4 degrees Celsius. Keylong town too recorded snowfall.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district saw a low of minus 3.8 degrees Celsius while it was 10.6 degree Celsius in Dharamsala.

The Met Office has forecast partly cloudy conditions with spells of rain and snow in the state till Tuesday.

IANS