Weathermen and travelers said, fresh show-white flakes covered the trees, roads and rooftops of Sukhia-pokhari, Chitrey, Ghoom, Jor-Bunglow Tonglu in lower region.
The reports of snowfall in the hills, inspired the travellers in the plains to defy nagging rains there and venture out for hills to witness the natural phenomenon in winter.
Road to Sandak-Phu and Phalut in the upper hills of Darjeeling was also closed for few days following snow that covered the vehicular route, official sources said.
Sources said, temperature was varying from place to place in the hills between minus and five degrees Celcius forcing the hill people to burn fuel and keep away severe cold.
Indian Meteorological Department's official Gopinath Raha predicts that inclement weather would continue to persist in the next three to four days following disturbances in the western region.
He said more snow and rains would occur in hills of Sikkim and Darjeeling and rains in the lower region of West Bengal's northern districts.
In the Gangetic plains, rains which had been pouring for past few days, in Kolkata and its neighbourhood, stopped though the sky was overcast.
The vagary of weather affected the pilgrims for Ganga Sagar Mela in South 24 Parganas. (UNI)
Snowfall sweeps Tiger Hill
Tiger Hill, Jan. 11.TT: The upper reaches of Darjeeling received the season’s first snowfall today but the hill residents could not experience the precipitation for a long time as the sun soon broke through the gloomy sky.As the excitement gave way to exasperation, the people, maybe for the first time, complained about the sunshine, relished much during the winter.
For most part of the day, the sky was clear in Darjeeling and also at Tiger Hill, which is at a higher elevation of 8,100ft. The sky suddenly turned grey in the Jorebunglow-Tiger Hill area around 1pm and by then, dark clouds had formed over the Darjeeling town as well.
To the surprise of even the most ardent snow chasers in Darjeeling, news trickled in that snowflakes had started descending at Tiger Hill. They did not expect the snowfall on a sunny day.
The local people and tourists alike soon starting hiring taxis for Tiger Hill. Within half an hour, Tiger Hill, 14km from Darjeeling, was teeming with snow chasers.
“It is simply heavenly. This is a once-in-a-life experience for me and my family members,” said Ashima Roy, a tourist from Calcutta.
There are not many tourists in Darjeeling at this time. But Roy’s family could only thank their stars for being in the hill town at the right time.
The sun was soon back both in Darjeeling and Tiger Hill and with it, the 2cm-thick snow started to melt.
For once, everyone in Darjeeling was disappointed with the sunshine. “It’s been quite some time since the town experienced a proper snowfall,” said Dhanraj Ghisingh, a resident of Darjeeling.
The snowfall continued for about 45 minutes at Tiger Hill.
Even though one could still see the blue sky from Darjeeling, residents screamed in excitement when some snowflakes were spotted in the town. The flakes had probably been blown from Tiger Hill.
Tiger Hill receives snowfall almost every year. The Darjeeling town, situated around 6,400ft, had last experienced the snowfall on January 26, 2008. But the residents could not enjoy much then as the snow was washed off in a drizzle. “I, however, remember playing with snow when it had snowed in the town on February 14, 2007,” said Deepmilan Pradhan, a resident.
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