A rare treat: Queen of Hills dresses up in white as sudden snowfall draws hordes of tourists
Darjeeling: The Queen of the Hills was draped in snow on Wednesday, much to the delight of the tourists and locals alike. Many a hamlet located in the higher reaches of the Darjeeling Hills wore a picture postcard look as a result.
Darjeeling town woke up to freezing temperatures and news of snowfall at Tiger Hill. The famous sunrise point located 11 km away at an altitude of 2,590 m, witnessed snowfall from 6 am.
Braving the rains and icy winds, tourists and locals made a beeline for Tiger Hill to enjoy the snow. "It is like Switzerland. I had visited Tiger Hill in the past but did not enjoy so much," stated Joydeep Roy, a tourist from Jalpaiguri.
It was a first time experience for Dr Ramakrishna Sanyal. "I work in Darjeeling. Hearing of snowfall I rushed to Tiger Hill. It was a lifetime experience for me," stated Sanyal. The snowfall resulted in a tourist rush from nearby areas including Siliguri and Jalpaiguri. After a bout of heavy snowfall, sporadic snowfall continued for hours at Tiger Hill. Jorebungalow and Ghoom, 8 km from Darjeeling, also experienced light snowfall. "It started snowing at 8:30am and continued till 9:15 am. We had to cancel our school assembly owing to the snow. Attendance was thin. Many schools in Ghoom declared a holiday as students turned up wet owing to the sudden snow," said Devendra Chettri, a teacher.
Mercury hovered around 1 degree C in the wee hours of Wednesday in Darjeeling town, which experienced rainfall with a few flakes of snow in the higher areas including Jalapahar.
Meanwhile, Kolkata's weather improved from Wednesday morning as the rainy spell ceased to have any further impact on the weather system. The city may experience a drop in the temperature by 2-3 degree Celsius in the night hours. During the day time the temperature will climb up.
The lowest temperature in the city was recorded at 18 degree Celsius on Wednesday, with the highest temperature around 27 degree Celsius. People will witness sunshine in the next few days and there is no fresh prediction of rainfall in South Bengal.
