Dateline Mussoorie: After two-days of continuous snowfall, Mussoorie’s snow magic wanes.
After weeks of sub-zero temperatures and windchill factor, the first snowflake waltzed into town on Thursday morning and continued late into Friday night. From eight inches to over two feet in the higher reaches of the town, its abutting areas like Dhanolti, Kanatal too were covered under a thick blanket of snow.
Marauders poured into the hill station in cars and two-wheelers skidding and sliding into the hill-station risking everything much before the dreaded weekend frenzy began. Residents struggled with burst water pipelines, snapped phone and electricity lines, no internet and traffic jams making movement impossible.
Local police has been on its toes, trying to step in and assist marauders who are totally unprepared for the cold and the perils of snow. Extra police force man crucial entry and exit points such as Bataghat, Mullingar, Kulri, Zero Point, Kincraig. SHO Mussoorie, Girishchand Sharma adds, “on an average, the hill station sees over two thousand vehicles entering town, but as it has snowed and it’s a weekend we are expecting over three thousand vehicles a day starting tomorrow.”
Learning lessons from the past, three JCB’s which have been stationed in and around the town worked late into the night clearing snowbound roads.
Local businessmen and hoteliers are happy as cash registers ring, but they too have a word of caution, Hotelier Prateek Karanwal says, “the town has come alive with the recent snowfall. Social media reels of tourists and Bollywood stars such as Akshay Kumar enjoying the snow has brought in good business but a sense of chaos prevails with bumper to bumper traffic bringing things to a grinding halt.”
If there is any silver lining at this point of time, it is that the Met Department promises sunshine over the next few days before another squall threatens to come this way.
