Temperature dips across Himachal Pradesh; flights resume partially

Shimla, Jan 5 (IANS) The minimum temperature in most parts of Himachal Pradesh dipped further Tuesday, the Met office here said. Meanwhile, air connectivity between New Delhi and the hill state resumed partially after the fog cleared in the national capital.

Temperatures across the hill state, except Shimla and Kalpa towns, plummeted though there was no fresh snowfall or rain in the past 24 hours, Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office, said.

He, however, said Shimla and Kalpa in Kinnaur district saw a slight rise in the night temperature.

While Shimla saw a low of 5.6 degrees Celsius, a rise of 3.5 degrees from Monday, Kalpa recorded minus 4.3 degrees Celsius, an increase of 1.7 degrees.

"The minimum temperature in Shimla is 5 degrees above average," Singh said.

Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place in the state. It recorded a night temperature of minus 11.6 degrees Celsius, a decline of 4.2 degrees from Monday.

Sundernagar in Mandi district recorded a low of 2.7 degrees Celsius, Bhuntar in Kullu 1.2 degrees and Dharamsala in Kangra district saw 2.5 degrees Celsius.

These towns Monday saw a low of 7.1 degrees Celsius, 4.8 degrees and 2.9 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Meanwhile, the air link between New Delhi and Himachal Pradesh, that was snapped Sunday, has resumed partially.

"Flights between Delhi and Kullu and Delhi and Dharamsala were restored Tuesday. However, flights between Delhi and Shimla couldn't be restored on the third day too," an official at the airport here said.

K.M. Mehra, airport controller at Bhuntar near Kullu, said that the Delhi-Kullu flight arrived on time at 8 a.m. Tuesday and departed for Delhi at 8.30 a.m.

Kingfisher is the only airline that operates regular flights between Delhi and Himachal Pradesh.