Snowfall in Sandakhpu

REZA PRADHAN, SNS, DARJEELING, 7 DECEMBER: Darjeeling district saw the season's first snowfall today at Sandakhpu, around 6 am away from Darjeeling, while temperatures in the town dipped, making it the coldest day so far this year.

At Sandakhpu, a popular tourist destination, the snowfall for a while and stopped before it could accumulate. Standing at a height of 3,836 metres, not only Sandakhpu, but its lower reaches like Kalpokhri, Gairibas and Tumling, around 19 km below Sandakhpu, also experienced snowfall tor a brief while, it is learnt.

"Snowfell around 12 in the afternoon for some minutes, but stopped before it could accumulate. The temperatures also ran at minus degree Celsius,  the coordinator of the Singalila Land Rover Association, Anil Tamang, said. Owing to the rough terrain at Sandakhphu, the only vehicles that ply there are Land Rovers driven by drivers of this association.

According to Mr Tamang, there are more than 100 tourists in the Sandakhpu area presently, using people ferried there by 10 Land Rovers today. A maximum number of passengers one vehicle can accommodate is seven. He added that there were tourists who had gone there for trekking.

Temperatures in Darjeeling town, meanwhile, dipped to around 8 degrees Celsius at one time in the afternoon, while it witnessed a slight drizzle. There were reports of hailstones falling at places like Sukhia Pokhari near the town. The temperature further dipped to 5 degrees Celsius late in the evening. To combat the sudden cold wave, local people huddled around bonfires.

It may be mentioned here that snow-fall was last experienced at Sandakhpu on 20 March last year. Darjeeling town, on the other hand, has not seen snowfall for quite a long time. The last time that Darjeeling town area, that too the upper reaches, had seen snowfall was on 28 January 2008, while nearby areas like Tiger Hill, which is about 12 km from here and stands at a height of 2,560 metres, had experienced snowfall on 27 January 2016.