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Freezing Shimla runs out of firewood

     Shimla/ New Delhi/Srinagar: Mercury dipping below zero degree Celsius, freezing both lakes and water pipes, people in Shimla and other parts of Himachal Pradesh are hard pressed to procure firewood to keep their hearths warm. Due to the non-availability of firewood, the locals in various parts have been hit hard by the cold wave. Firewood is primarily supplied from Kullu and other parts of the State. Although, the cost of useful energy obtained from firewood is very high as compared to other fuel like kerosene and LPG, fuel- wood is abundantly used.

    Shimla recorded temperatures of minus 1.6 degrees Celsius; the lowest recorded this season. Other places in North India, including Delhi continue to reel under severe cold wave conditions. Delhi experienced its coldest day of the season on Monday with the mercury dropping to 2.6 degree Celsius. The Met Department said the temperature was four degrees below normal, and warned that temperature at night is expected to be around two degrees Celsius. Wintry conditions have been prevailing in Delhi for the past two days, with the minimum at around four degrees. But, on Monday, Delhiites needed extra woollens to beat the cold. "The weather was cold all these days, but today it was extremely cold. I am wearing extra pullovers to keep myself warm," said Geetanjali, an office-goer. With mercury heading downwards with each passing day, the residents of Delhi and its outlying suburbs like Gurgaon and Noida are scurrying towards shops and upmarket malls to buy an assortment of heaters. The choice varies from the traditional blower to oil heaters and halogen heaters. "The cold is unbearable this season. I am looking for a room- heater for my home. The market has different varieties of room- heater. I want the best," said Ankit Sharma in Gurgaon. The weatherman blames the cold waves on the north-westerly winds blowing in from the Punjab. However, the dropping mercury levels have not affected domestic or international flights, and there has been no fog. With visibility at a distance of over 2,000 meters, flights took off at their scheduled times, airport sources said. The Dal Lake, in Srinagar, has frozen as temperatures dipped below Zero degrees Celsius. Boat owners had to break the thin layer of snow in the lake to make their way. "It's cold throughout Kashmir. The water has frozen. The lake has frozen, it is very difficult to move about especially in the mornings and evenings when it's colder," said Abdul Gani, a Srinagar resident. The Dal Lake had earlier frozen fully in the early sixties when, the minimum temperature went down to minus ten degree to minus 12 degree. It is said that at the time when it was completely frozen, a vehicle passed over its surface. It was again completely frozen in 1986, and attracted thousands of tourists besides Kashmiris from far-flung areas, as it transformed into a cricket ground for children. Large parts of Jammu and Kashmir are carpeted with a thick mantle of snow. According to the MET officials in Srinagar cold wave prevailing in the valley would intensify as the western disturbances from Pakistan are yet to reach here and chances are that western disturbances would arrive in next 48 hours which could cause rain or snowfall. With cold wave intensifying the locals here are warming themselves with the traditional fire pots (Kangri) and hope that this would bring tourists back to the valley who were scared after a series of attacks on them last year. Punjab and Haryana, too, have been affected by the cold wave. In Chandigarh, the minimum temperature touched Zero degrees Celsius, breaking a 35-year old record. A cold wave swept through Jalandhar, engulfing it in a dense blanket of fog. Motorists and commuters had a tough time this morning braving the cold icy winds to reach their places of work. Daily wage-earners, too, were hard-it, by the weather conditions. "In the last few days it has been very cold. We have not been able to work properly. We come to work by three in the morning," said Pariaye Kumar, a local.

    In Uttar Pradesh, road and rail traffic was delayed due to the fog. Agra was declared the coldest place in the state at 6.4 degrees, followed by Allahabad at 7.2 degrees. The death toll in Uttar Pradesh this winter has gone up to 41, with one more death reported on Sunday. The cold weather across northern and eastern India has claimed 80 lives in the past week. It has specially hit the poor, who are without proper shelters. The lack of nutritious food worsens the impact of the cold, lowering body heat and leading to hypothermia.
-Jan 8,  2007

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