Shimla, Jan. 25 -- Along with picture-perfect views, the heavy snowfall in Himachal also affected the normal life with power outages, traffic jams and widespread disruption of transportation owing to slippery roads.

A total of 683 roads, including two national highways (NH-03 between Koksar to Darcha and NH-505 Gramphu- Batal), remain blocked across the state, read a report by State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). Himachal Pradesh public works department (PWD) minister Vikramaditya Singh, while talking to HT said, "I am in constant touch with departmental officials. JCBs and poclain machines are continuously engaged in clearing roads in hilly areas."

The minister added that higher reaches have received 2.5 to 3 feet of snow, while...