Old-timers recalled that for almost two decades Shimla, which was planned for a maximum population of 16,000 and now supports 236,000, has not recorded this kind of heavy snowfall in a single spell. Ramesh Chauhan, a retired government employee settled in the city since 1960, said that till the 1980s, heavy snowfall was a normal feature of the town. There used to be four to five spells of heavy snow (more than 70 cm) throughout the winter and in between there were mild to moderate ones, he said. "I still remember the winter of 1990-91 when Shimla got the heaviest snow in a single spell. This time the intensity of snowfall is quite less compared to the past, but the miseries are more," Chauhan said.
