Shimla, Jan. 24 -- Widespread rainfall and heavy snowfall across Himachal Pradesh over the past 24 hours have severely disrupted public utilities, blocking hundreds of roads and affecting electricity and water supply in several districts, according to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), Himachal Pradesh.

As per the Evening Public Utility report issued by the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) at 6 pm on Friday, a total of 683 roads, including two National Highways (NH-03 and NH-505), remain blocked across the state. The number of distribution transformers (DTRs) disrupted rose to 5,775, while 126 water supply schemes were reported to be affected.

The worst-hit regions include Lahaul-Spiti, Mandi, Chamba, Kullu and Sirm...