MANALI: Widespread snowfall in Himachal, the heaviest in this season, has rejuvenated the tourism industry with visitors making beeline to hill towns and hotel occupancy witnessing a sudden surge.Manali and Dalhousie received good snow, while Shimla too received moderate snow on Sunday. The increased traffic jams on Kiratpur-Bilaspur, Kullu-Manali and Manali-Solang roads are evident to increase in number of vehicles from other states heading to Manali to see snow. Hotel occupancy in Shimla and Dalhousie too has increased suddenly.Manali Hoteliers Association president Anup Ram Thakur said the weather has turned pleasant after snowfall. “Good inquiries are pouring in from all states. Hoteliers are happy that occupancy has almost doubled in a few days. Hopefully we will have good crowd till March. We have enough snow at Solang, Gulaba, Hamta and nearby areas where tourists can enjoy till beginning of summer tourist season,” he said.Solang, Kothi, Gulaba, Rohtang, Marhi, Hamta and most tourist destinations here have received heavy snow in recent times. Tourists visiting Manali will get to see snow till summer months. The snowfall, however, was nominal in lower areas but has worked as a saviour for tourism, agriculture, horticulture and drinking water schemes.According to hoteliers, less than 20% of their rooms were occupied before snowfall but now they are receiving large number of inquiries from tourists who want to see snow. Some hotels are fully occupied for the whole month. Hundreds of tourists are also thronging Nehru Kund and Solang to enjoy the fresh snow.Thakur added that snowfall continues till March end and they have a whole winter season in hand. He added that hoteliers were praying for heavy snowfall in coming days so that enough snow was stocked till June end.“We expect good snowfall till mid March. If we get good snow on hills, including Rohtang Pass , only then it will last till June or July. Lakhs of tourists visit Himachal only to see snow at the Pass in summers. Tourism of Dalhousie, Shimla and Dharamshala also depends on Manali to a large extent,” he said.Following heavy snowfall in Manali on Sunday, many roads are still blocked. The extreme cold on Monday resulted in deposit of ice on the roads which then resulted in slipping of some vehicles. Long traffic jams is still a major problem in Manali.

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