Shimla, July 2 (IANS) Flights from the Himachal Pradesh state capital airport resumed Saturday after bad weather conditions forced closure of the airport for nine days, n official said here.

Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon, which was active during the past few days, remained dormant in the state, weather officials here said.

An airport official told IANS that flights between Delhi and Shimla resumed after nine days of closure as weather remained dry.

Meteorological office director Manmohan Singh said: ‘There was a lull in the monsoon in most parts of the hill state Saturday. The past few days saw a good spell of showers across the state.’

While tourist town Shimla, which recorded the maximum temperature at 23.5 degrees Celsius, saw no rain, picturesque tourist resort Manali received 5 mm, Kasauli in Solan district got 12 mm and Dharamsala in Kangra district experienced 4.4 mm rainfall.

Singh said the monsoon would strengthen in the state in the next few days.