Sunday, 09 January 2022 | PNS | New Tehri
Fruit growers along with the tourists and residents were delighted as Dhanaulti along with the Chamba-Mussoorie fruit belt area received moderate to heavy snowfall on Saturday. The Mussoorie- Chamba motor road was closed to traffic due to the heavy snowfall. The local administration deployed personnel along with two mechanical excavators to clear the snow off the road. However, the police informed this correspondent that the road was slippery for vehicles till the evening.
The snowfall in this region put normal life out of gear but the farmers were delighted as the considerable snowfall will prove beneficial for apples and other fruits cultivated in this region. The snow which falls during the first and second weeks of this month tends to not melt quickly. As a result, the accumulated snow on and around the fruit trees keeps the ground cool and the moisture lasts for a long time, which also protects the plants from a variety of diseases, said one farmer.
Prolonged cold in the fruit orchards also increases the chances of completion of chilling hours required for apples, added the local fruit growers. Khushi Ram Dabral of Chopdial village said that this snowfall will be beneficial for both farmers and horticulturists. For fruit growers who have prepared new plantations of plums, apricots and apples, snowfall was like elixir, he added.
