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Asia's biggest lake festival is all set to begin in Uttarakhand

Heavy Rain, snow likely from 21 January 2019

It's "White January" in hills as 5th snow spell hits region

Doon-Pithoragarh Flight: 4 days on, Delay, cancellation irk passengers

Asia's biggest lake festival is all set to begin in Uttarakhand

Time to make more travel arrangements as Asia's greatest lake festival is back in Uttarakhand's Tehri. This drawing in occasion will be held from 26 to 28 February, 2019, and will be attended by various travelers from everywhere.

It's not the first that Uttarakhand government is orgainsing something like this. Every year, the Uttarakhand government plans Tehri Lake Festival which is considered as Asia's greatest lake fest. Those interested in being a part of this amazing celebration, must book their seats already as it gets pretty full and swarmed here.

Stunning fireworks, elevated games and other experience exercises along with various water based games will be the primary fascination here. One can appreciate various interesting adventure sports, for example, paragliding, river rafting, banana rides, boating, canoeing, water surfing and so much more.

It's stand-out occasion where specialists and members get to exhibit their elevated abilities as well. Additionally, there would be some amazing performances by Bollywood artists for the entertainment of the guests. At this social occasion, one will likewise get the opportunity to observe an alternate side of the Tehri district in Uttarakhand.

Tehri Dam in Tehri district is one of the biggest hydroelectric projects on the planet. Today, the remains of old Tehri lie submerged while the New Tehri is about modernization and most recent advancements. Set at a height of 1750 m, Tehri is home to the enormous Tehri Dam Reservoir, where various activities take place.

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Heavy Rain, snow likely from 21 January 2019

After a brief dry, spell, temperatures are likely to plunge in Uttarakhand with higher ranges in the Himalayan state expected to receive heavy snowfall. Lo-lying areas are expected to witness rain on January 21 and 22. The regional meteorological centre (MET) on Friday issued a 'yellow' warning stating heavy snowfall is likely to occur at isolated places in Rudraprayag, Uttarkashi, Chamoli and Pithoragarh districts on January 21 and 22.

"A fresh western disturbance will affect state's weather on January 21 and 22. High altitude places will receive snowfall while the foothills and low-lying areas will witness overcast conditions along with irregular rain activity," said Bikram Singh director, regional meteorological centre.

Met officials said that mercury will witness substantial drop across the state following snow and rain activity. At present, both maximum and minimum temperatures in hills and plains of Uttarakhand are settling above normal level. According to Bikram Singh, the day's temperature will "plunge by at least 3-4 degrees while night temperatures will also come down."

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It's "White January" in hills as 5th snow spell hits region

January continues to be "white" in the hills of north India as the month�s 5th spell of snow hit the region from Friday. Heavy to very heavy snowfall is expected across J&K and Himachal Pradesh on Monday and Tuesday, with Uttarakhand also in line to get wet weather.

After barely a day's break, yet another spell of moderate snow is likely to last the region from January 24 to 26, brightening the prospects of a snowy vacation for Republic Day vacationers headed to the hill stations of Uttarakhand, and particularly, Himachal Pradesh.

"We have issued a red alert in J&K from Saturday till Tuesday and in Himachal Pradesh for Monday and Tuesday, as very snowfall and rainfall is expected in parts of the region. For Uttarakhand, a lower level alert has been issued for heavy snowfall on Monday and Tuesday." Said B P Yadav, head of IMD's regional meteorological centre.

With at least six active western disturbances, against a normal of four-five, snowfall this January is set to be the highest in the past several years. The difference between this season's snowfall and what was seen last January which was a particularly dry month is clearly captured in Nasa's satellite images. Good snowfall is essential for water availability in the subsequent summer months, across north India.

"This is the best snowfall we have had in Uttarakhand in at least the last three years. Snow is the main source of water in the Himalayan Rivers that feed the northern plains. If we get 2-3 more snow spells of in February and March, water discharge in the rivers will remain relatively high till peak summer," said D P Dobhal, glaciologist at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology in Dehradun.

Uttarakhand's lone snow gauge at Mukteshwar has only recorded trace snowfall this month (on January 2019) indicating that the lower hills in the state haven�t received much snow yet. However, the higher reaches are covered in white, including the shrines of Kedarnath and Badrinath.

"In Munsiyari in Pithoragarh district, we have had around five spells of snow so far this winter, which is around normal," said mountaineer Malika Virde, who lives in Sarmoli village, near Munsiyari. Srinagar has already received 54 cm of snow, very close to the entire month's normal of 57cm. "We expect above normal snowfall this winter," said Sonam Lotus, chief of Srinagar Met department.

Himachal too is in line for record snowall. Kothi in Kullu district has received 110cm of snow this month, nearly 15 times more than what it got last January. "Temperatures have been quite low this month. This, coupled with frequent western disturbances, has brought heavy snow in many districts of Himachal," said Manmohan Singh, head of the regional met department at Shimla.

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Doon-Pithoragarh Flight: 4 days on, delay, cancellation irk passengers

4 days after Doon-Pantnagar-Pithoragarh flight was inaugurated by chief minister Trivendra singh Rawat in a "major boost" to connectivity between Garhwal and Kumaon regions of the State, technical glitches spoil the initial jamboree. The flight was four hours late on Friday while the air service remained suspended on Sunday.

Subhash Anthwal, operational in charge of Heritage Aviation, the firm tasked by the government to run the air service, said, "Operations remained suspended on Sunday because of a technical glitch in the plane. We are trying to accommodate Sunday's passengers on Monday's flight. Till now, five Pithoragarh-Doon passengers while all Pithoragarh-Pantnagar passengers have cancelled their tickets. The plane will make an extra trip today to accommodate all the passengers."

Meanwhile, passengers expressed their dissatisfaction over flight cancellation within days of beginning the commercial operations. Climber Yogesh Garvayal, Mount Everest summiteers who had booked a ticket from Pithoragarh to Doon earlier, had to hire a taxi to reach Haldwani. "I had to spend more money and time for no fault of mine. It was a scheduled flight and the aviation company should have made arrangements for the passengers. The breach of Passengers trust on the 4rth day of the service itself doesn�t bode well for the route," Garvayal said.

The flight connecting the state capital with the two key outposts of Kumaon has been envisaged under the ambitious UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme of the centre and is operated by Heritage Aviation which also provides heli services at Kedarnath during the Char Dham Yatra. Initially, a nine-seater plane is deployed on the route. The aircraft leaves Dehradun at 9.30 am and reaches Pithoragarh at 10.20 am.

After a 20-minute halt, the aircraft leaves for Pantnagar and reaches there at 11.10 am. The flight departs Pantnagar at 11.30 am and reaches Pithoragarh at 12 noon. At 12.20 pm, it leaves from Pithoragarh and reaches Dehradun at 1.10 pm. While the trip from Dehradun to Pithoragarh costs a passenger Rs 1,570, the fare from Pithoragarh to Pantnagar is Rs 1,410 per passenger. The Naini Saini airport had been inaugurated in 1991 but did not see any commercial flights for 28 years as clearance from the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) was pending.

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