MANALI/SHIMLA: Two avalanches buried nine people in Lahaul and Spiti, stranded hundreds of vehicles and snapped water and power supply lines as the season’s heaviest snowfall overnight in Himachal Pradesh. Snowflakes measuring up to 4cm that started falling in most places after 10pm on Thursday continued till the wee hours of Friday.While tribal areas of the state received up to 90cm of snow in 24 hours, lower areas like Mandi and Sundernagar too witnessed snowfall after three decades. Bharmour recorded 90cm snow, while Keylong in Lahaul received 55cm more snow. Snow accumulation at Keylong has reached over 100cm. Kothi and Solang in Manali received 65cm snow, Kufri near Shimla got 55cm. Dalhousie received 50cm more snow, while Shimla recorded 36cm overnight snow. Manali has received 35cm fresh snow, Kalpa 29cm, Theog 29, Janjehli 20cm, Mashobra 20cm and Sarahan 17cm overnight.Lahaul valley has been hit by many avalanches in the last 48 hours. One such avalanche at Gondhla village of Lahaul buried a community hall and trapped four Nepalese inside it on Thursday evening. All four were rescued in a nightlong operation. “The avalanche has damaged the building and two vehicles. The victims, now safe, were labourers,” said Lahaul-Spiti deputy commissioner Ashwani Kumar Chawdhary.Another avalanche in Spiti valley buried five labourers. Spiti additional deputy commissioner Vikram Negi said the labourers were clearing snow from Kaza-Sagnam road with help of a dozer when an avalanche struck the area. “Five persons were reported to be buried under the debris. Thankfully all were pulled out. One of them, who sustained some injuries, was hospitalised. We have advised people to stay indoors for at least two more days,” he added.Snowfall has blocked 1,093 roads for traffic in Himachal Pradesh and affected 415 water supply schemes. Hundreds of vehicles are stranded in the state. Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, who chaired a meeting with senior officers to review the situation, said the government had released Rs 35.17 crore to ensure speedy restoration of essential services. He directed the officers to ensure that all the essential services are restored immediately, and all roads opened to traffic by Saturday evening.Thakur directed the electricity board authorities and the BSNL to ensure that services are restored at the earliest so that the people do not face any inconvenience. He said 15 satellite phones would be provided at all district headquarters and added that three tribal subdivisions of the state to ensure effective communication facilities at the time of natural calamities.Hundreds of villages have plunged into darkness as snow has snapped power transmission cables. Supply to major towns including Manali has been restored but it will take time to erect the collapsed poles and lines in many areas. With trees collapsing and branches giving away due to the weight of snow, transmission cables have snapped, said a senior official. In Kullu district, nearly 900 transformers were lying defunct on Friday morning. Around 500 transformers were fixed by evening.Snow and landslides uprooted hundreds of trees in the state and triggered landslides. Water pipes have frozen, making life difficult for citizens

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