Snow Disappears From Uttarakhand's Om Parvat

For the first time…

Last week, the snow disappeared completely from Uttarkahand's Om Parvat for the first time.

Visitors are wondering what was wrong.

Experts detected the phenomenon of rain and scattered snowfall in the upper Himalayan region over the past five years due to rise in vehicular pollution and global warming.

An official had said that tourism in the region could be affected if the hill remained snowless for a long period. However, snowfall on Monday night brought back snow to Om Parvat.

Om Parvat, a popular tourist spot in Vyas Valley, is located at an altitude of around 14,000 feet. The snow atop the hill naturally forms a pattern resembling the Hindi word "Om", which is how the spot derived its name.

"It was disappointing to see Om Parvat which has a reputation of being eternally clad in snow, utterly devoid of it when I went there on August 16," a visitor said.

Showing snowless photos of the Om Parvat clicked, Urmila Sanwal, a resident of Gunji village here, said, "There was no snow on the 'Om' hill. The spot was barely recognizable as there was no snow."

Dhan Singh Bisht was in charge of the base camp of Adi Kailash yatra in Dharchula, said, "It is for the first time in his service in Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam that I saw a completely snowless Om Parvat."

The annual snow melting rate at Om Parvat used to be 95-99 percent earlier, but this year it melted completely, the KMVN official said.