Cold wave paralyses normal life in
North
New Delhi:
Intense cold has paralysed life in New Delhi and other
central and northern areas of India. The dipping temperatures
and dense fog made life worse for the people on Friday.
According to the metrological department, the maximum
temperature remained four degrees below normal while the
minimum temperature fell to four degrees Celsius in Delhi.
Thick fog enveloped the city and people huddled around
small fires lighted around street corners to warm themselves.
Flights, trains and road transport continued to be dislocated
on an alarming scale.
The harsh
weather has made life difficult for the people, especially
the economically weaker sections. "Poor people find it
difficult to cope up with cold. I am wondering what would
happen to those who are living on the streets. The Government
has not taken any steps to provide relief," said Dalip
Singh, a resident. Local authorities have set up a number
of night shelters with adequate facilities to keep people
warm in the city, but they are not sufficient to accommodate
all the poor sleeping on the streets. The New Year began
with a large number of flights and trains getting delayed
or cancelled. The situation was not much different on
Friday morning. The traffic on the roads was thin during
morning hours as the general visibility dropped to 50
meters. Temperature has plummeted all over entire north
India. The Meteorological Department has predicted that
the cold wave conditions are likely to persist for the
next couple of days.
The people
in Lucknow had a tough time coping with a chilling breeze
and dense fog on Thursday. The dipping temperature with
chilling breeze and fog made life too difficult for everyone
here. On Thursday (Jan.1), local residents in Lucknow
braved the chill in the air covered in thick woolens.
Some of them opted fighting it by huddling around roadside
bonfires. "We faced a lot of difficulty specially in moving
around," said Samul Khan, a local resident. Temperature
has plummeted in almost entire north India and the Meteorological
Department has predicted that this weather is likely to
persist for the next couple of days. According to the
meteorological department, the temperature recorded at
8.2 degree Celsius, is expected to fall in the days to
come. "Till recently, we have seen the fog disappearing
with the coming of the sun. But today it got stagnated
in the sky. Tomorrow, we are expecting it to get thin.
And so the temperature is likely to drop further," said
J. P. Gupta, Director of the meteorological department.
-Jan
2, 2009
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