MANALI/SHIMLA: Peak winter months of Himachal -- December and January -- have passed but neither the water taps were found frozen nor did the residents feel the biting cold as it used to be earlier. For many, this is one of the pleasant winters they have ever had. Unlike previous years, water sources are not freezing in Manali, Shimla, Dalhousie and other hill stations perched in mid-hills of Himachal. The average minimum temperature this year is 3 to 5 degrees Celsius more than that in last year. Accept for few days of December when water taps in Manali and Shimla were found frozen, cold could not put its much impact on the normal living. Water sources in cold deserts of Lahaul-Spiti district, parts of Chamba and Kinnaur are still freezing with cold. Even in Lahaul-Spiti, the coldest district of Himachal, river Chenab didn’t see a thick walk-able layer of ice which was normal sight every winter. “Icicles hanging from the roof every morning are missing this year. Except for few days of December, we didn’t bother to pour hot water on frozen tap to get the water,” says Mohan Lal Thakur, an octogenarian, who feels real winter was missing this year. “My children were sharing with me that we have saved a lot of fuel wood this year as there was no need of fire all the time.” Shimla had minimum temperature in positive numbers for most of the days while minimum temperature in Manali could not touch minus 5 degrees Celsius mark. The worse thing is that new green grass is covering the orchards and fields of the state which is not usual for this time of the season. While Manali saw only one good spell of snow so far, Shimla saw three spells of snowfall. Lal Chand Sharma,
MANALI/SHIMLA: Peak winter months of Himachal — December and January — have passed but neither the water taps were found frozen nor did the residents feel the biting cold as it used to be earlier. For many, this is one of the pleasant winters they have ever had. Unlike previous years, water sources are not
