Chandigarh: The severe cold wave sweeping
Haryana and Punjab claimed the life of a beggar in Ambala,
while a thick blanket of fog in the morning affected normal
life in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.
Foggy conditions also disrupted flight operations at
the Chandigarh International Airport, forcing delay and
cancellation of some flights for three days now.
Poor visibility due to fog also caused delay of some
trains passing through Punjab and Haryana.
An unidentified person, who the police believe to be a
beggar, was suspected to have died due to the severe cold in
Ambala.
His body was found near the Rambagh Shiv temple where a
devotee called the police. Officials said the person was
scantily dressed and might have died of severe cold.
Icy winds in Chandigarh forced many residents, especially
the elderly, to restrict themselves indoors while labourers
working in the open lit bonfires.
With 13 degrees Celsius being the maximum temperature,
Chandigarh recorded one of its coldest days in recent years.
According to MeT officials, during the day Chandigarh was
colder than many places in Himachal including Shimla, which
recorded a high of 13.9 degrees, Solan at 18.4 degrees and
Dharamsala, which recorded a high of 15.2 degrees Celsius.
Chandigarh's night temperature, however, settled at 10.5
degrees Celsius, up four notches against normal.
Bathinda today was the coldest place in Punjab recording
a minimum temperature of 3.8 degrees Celsius. Amritsar and
Faridkot also experienced the cold weather recording
respective minimum temperature of 6.2 degrees and 5.7 degrees.
Ludhiana registered a low of 8.1 degrees Celsius.
Patiala, Adampur and Halwara also experienced a cold
night recording respective lows of 7.6, 7.7 and 7.1 degrees
Celsius.
In Haryana, Hisar was the coldest place recording a low
of 4.9 degrees Celsius, down four notches against normal
limit. Narnaul braved the chill at 4 degrees, two below normal
while Bhiwani registered a low of 7.2 degrees Celsius.
The MeT here said that "cold wave conditions are likely
to prevail at few places in Punjab and Haryana during the next
two days while dense to very dense fog is likely at many
places during next two days".
Fog reduced visibility in Chandigarh, Patiala, Jalandhar,
Ludhiana, Amritsar, Moga, Bathinda, Ambala, Panchkula,
Kurukshetra, Karnal, Hisar, Bhiwani, Rohtak and other places,
MeT Department officials said here. PTI
