Dharamshala, May 2 -- Amid the bad weather conditions in the higher reaches, a minor avalanche has disrupted restoration work on the Sach Pass road in Himachal Pradesh's Chamba district, officials said on Friday. Snow clearance operations are currently underway by the public works department (PWD) along a 67-km stretch of the Chamba-Killar route. Officials said nearly 85% of the stretch has been cleared of snow and nearly 10-km stretch remains to be cleared due to heavy accumulation of snow. However, a minor avalanche struck at Karthnala near Satrundi on the Churah side on Thursday, disrupting ongoing work. Officials said that the restoration work has been delayed by around 5-days. Situated at an altitude of 14,500 feet, Sach Pass connects Chamba with the remote Pangi valley and remains closed for nearly seven months each year due to heavy snowfall. Snow clearance operations this season began on April 12, with teams required to cut several feet of accumulated snow at the top of the pass. Executive engineer Ravi Kumar Sharma said, "Restoration work has been hampered by adverse weather conditions, with minor avalanches occurring at two to three locations in the past few days. On Thursday, an avalanche at Karthnala disrupted snow clearance operations. We had initially set a target of May 15 and were optimistic of completing it by May 10, but that now seems unlikely. However, we are working on war footing to restore the road and if the weather remains favorable, we will complete it by May 12." The closure of Sach Pass during winter months cuts off the Pangi Valley from the district headquarters, Chamba. It forces the residents of Pangi to undertake a long and arduous journey, covering 750 km via Jammu and Kullu to reach the district headquarters. The India meteorological department (IMD), Shimla, has predicted wet weather in Himachal till May 7. While the middle hills and plains are expected to receive light rain, the higher reaches may witness light rain or snowfall during this period. According to the weather office, a fresh Western Disturbance is likely to affect the Western Himalayan region from May 2. The weather office has sounded an orange alert of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, hail and gusty winds (40-50 kmph) in Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi and Shimla districts for May 3. It is followed by a similar alert in Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts on May 4....