After a long spell of dry weather, the entire Beas Valley was lashed by torrential rain. Heavy rain continued all over the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesaday.
People heaved a sigh of relief from the pall of dust which had overcast the sky for the last three weeks. Entire hills were turned green as the forests had a welcome bath.
The rain is also said to be beneficial for the fruit crops. It is also timely for sowing of the maize crop. Many farmers were seen plowing their fields today for sowing maize and other crops of the season.
large number of tourists from Punjab, Haryana, Delhi , Rajasthan, Maharashtra and West Bengal have started coming to the hills of Himachal Pradesh. The occupancy of hotels of Manali, Kulu, Mandi and Sundernagar has suddenly increased. Fifty to eighty percent occupancy was reported in the hotels in the region.
Beas was in spate in the morning with muddy water. According to Conservator of Forests, Upasana Patial, rain has provided much needed relief against forest fires reports of which were continuously pouring in the Mandi Forest Circle over the last one week.
The tourists for the first time this year were bee-lining to new tourists spots like Prashar lake, Barot, Bir, Billing, Kamrunag and panoramic Janjehli Valley. Near 100 vehicles were parked at the top of the Prashar hill on Tuesday, a tourist said.
Tourists lamented that despite besides tremendous tourists potential Himachal Pradesh government had miserably failed to provide broad and safe road to Prashar over the past 70 years notwithstanding the fact that the area is represented by the health minister, Kaul Singh.
Similar is the fate of Mandi - Barot road. The panoramic Barot Valley where meandering Uhl river flows is, in fact, a dreamland for the tourists coming from the plains to get rid of the scorching heat of the plains. lack of proper roads, however, has dampened the spirit of those headed for Barot.