Churdhar grapples with blackouts, water shortage

Pankaj Sharma

Nahan, March 4

All the roads and footpaths heading for Churdhar, the highest peak of Sirmaur district, have been closed due to heavy snowfall. After continuous snowfall for three days, the weather had cleared today, but there was no power supply in the area.

The supply of water was also disrupted due to frozen pipes. Residents said they had to melt snow for cooking, drinking and bathing.

After three days of snowfall in Churdhar, a famous religious and tourist place located at an altitude of 11,965 feet above the sea level, there was some relief as sun shone bright during the day. Around 3 feet of fresh snowfall was recorded in the last three days.

After the snowfall, the severity of cold weather had increased in the area, but today due to an increase in the temperature during the day, people got slight relief from the bone-chilling weather. The minimum temperature in Churdhar today was recorded at -4°C, while the maximum was 7°C.

Meanwhile, Mahant Swami Kamalanand of Sharda Math Ashram has appealed to the devotees and tourists to avoid travelling to Churdhar as all the roads and pedestrian paths here had been closed due to heavy snowfall.

Churdhar receives heavy snowfall from December to April and during these months around 15-20 feet of snow is accumulated in the region. However, around 8 feet of snow has been accumulated so far.

In view of heavy snowfall, the administration suspends travel to Churdhar from November 30 to April 13 every year, yet many tourists ignore the ban and risk their lives to reach the highest peak .