Following snowfall in the higher mountainous areas of the lake city Nainital on Thursday night, the level of mercury in the tourist hot-spot showed a marked drop on Friday. In Nainital, the Naina peak and Kilburry the second spell of snowfall of this season was experienced a day ago. Apart from this, various other areas including the high mountainous regions of Mukteshwar also experienced snowfall. With the news of snowfall spreading, tourists from far and near started making a beeline to the lake city and other areas covered with the white blanket of recent snow. In addition to the snowfall in the higher mountainous areas, Nainital town was experiencing intermittent spells of rainfall on Friday till the time of this report being filed with the minimum level being recorded at just a notch above the zero degree temperature.
It is pertinent to mention here that Nainital city and other mountainous areas of the Nainital district experienced snowfall in the first week of the current month. More recently, the second spell of snowfall in this area was experienced on Friday. According to officials, about four inches of snowfall was reported from Nainital’s Naina peak, snow view area, Kilburry, Himdarshan and Pangtu. The local authorities deployed a mechanical excavator to clear the snow off the motor road in the Himdarshan area. With the snowfall came throngs of tourists from parts of the state and from other places outside the state. The spike in number of tourist vehicles also caused problems as on the Kilburry Road where the people had to face traffic congestion. However, visiting tourists made the most of the opportunity by playing with and getting photographed on the snow covering the ground on the roadsides. Sources further inform that light snowfall has also been reported at the peaks in Mukteshwar, Khaprad, Gagar, Satbunga, Dhanachuli and Ramgadh. These areas were reported to have received about three-inches of snowfall. The rain and snowfall is being considered a good factor for the Rabi crop.