Darjeeling town gives locals, tourists first glimpse of snowfall after 1 decade

Amitava Banerjee, MP, 28 Dec 2018,  Darjeeling: The weather gods were finally appeased and the 'Queen of Hills' finally witnessed snowfall after nearly one decade. 

The brief and light snowfall left both the tourists and locals euphoric. Though the higher reaches of the hills including Sandakphu witness snowfall in winters, it has been eluding the main town since long. Last it had snowed in Darjeeling town on January 28, 2008. 

Thursday started with brief spells of sunshine in the early part of the day. During the later part overcast skies accompanied by icy winds culminated in a drizzle, sleet and very light snowfall at around 4:45 pm. It was for a very brief spell and did not accumulate. The temperature dipped to 0.2 degree Celsius at 9 pm. The same weather conditions prevailed in Sonada and Ghoom. In Tiger Hill, at higher reaches, sleet and snowfall were a bit prolonged resulting in snow accumulation of the ground. 

With the snowfall, elated people rushed to Chowrasta, the most prominent public space of the town. As it was already dark — there were high chances of good photographs getting tampered, however, shutter happy tourists and locals alike went around clicking photographs and selfies. 

Tourists were seen collecting ice from the bonnet of vehicles passing by and throwing at each other. 

"I have never witnessed snowfall. It is beautiful like cotton falling from the heavens. I have decided to extend my stay. We are all praying that there is heavy snow," stated Manish Sharma, a tourist from Delhi. For Karma Doma, a local, it was the first snowfall for her 6-year-old son. 

"As soon as it started snowing I took my son to Chowrasta. He was ecstatic," Karma added. Gone are the days of picture-postcard winters that Darjeeling used to witness every winters. 

"When we were young it used to snow every winter. We used to have such heavy snowfall that we had to shovel the front porch to get through to the main door. Now with heavy construction, depleting forest cover and pollution, we hardly have any snowfall now," stated Dr Urmila Sinha, a septuagenarian. 

Shops downed shutters early and roadside fires were lit to escape the biting cold. 

"I have been posted in Darjeeling for the past 5 years. This is my first snowfall. I was so overjoyed that I even opened my woolen cap to enjoy the snow to the maximum," stated Dr Subhratanu Daripa. 

Sandakphu at 12,000 feet, the highest point of West Bengal experienced heavy snowfall. 

"Tourists in good numbers are visiting Sandakphu to enjoy the snow," stated Anil Tamang of the Singhalila Land Rover Owners' Association. 

"Owing to western disturbances many places experienced rain, hail, sleet and snow. The higher reaches of both Sikkim and West Bengal experienced snowfall," stated Dr. Gopi Nath Raha of the Met office in Gangtok. 

Even the higher regions of Gangtok experienced sleet. 

In the plains, temperatures dipped considerably and the skies remained overcast.