M A I N   N E W S

Dense fog envelops region

Chandigarh, December 17
Cold wave continued unabated in Punjab and Chandigarh even as a dense fog enveloped most parts of north-west India today, affecting rail and road traffic, and an old woman died due to chilly weather taking the number of deaths to three.

The mercury plummeted three degrees to four degrees below normal in the region where the cold wave has already claimed the lives of two persons.

The minimum dipped to -0.4°C at Jalandhar, turning it the coldest place in Punjab, followed by Amritsar recording 1.2°C, four degrees below normal. Ludhiana and Patiala registered three degrees below normal temperature at 3°C 4 °C.

Cold wave persisted in Chandigarh and its adjoining areas in Punjab and Haryana with the city recording 3.4 degrees, four degrees below normal. Cold wave conditions are likely to continue in Punjab and Chandigarh tomorrow, according to the Meteorological Department here. Ground frost is likely to occur at isolated places in Punjab during the next two nights.

A dense fog enveloped most areas in the region, including Amritsar, Pathankot, Halwara, Ambala, Sirsa, Bathinda and Palam (Delhi) in the morning, reducing the visibility to zero, forcing vehicular traffic to move at snail’s pace with headlights on.

Several long distance trains on the busy Delhi-Amritsar and Delhi-Jammu routes were running two to five hours behind the schedule, a report from Jalandhar said.

Amritsar-bound 3005 Howrah- Amritsar-Howrah Mail was running late by about two hours, 3049 Howrah- Amritsar Express by four hours, Katihar- Amritsar-Amrapalli Express by five hours, Jammu-bound 5097 Guwahati-Jammu-Amarnath Express by about four hours and Chennai-Jammu Express by five hours, the report said.

Barauni-bound 5210 Amritsar- Barauni- Janseva Express was also running five hours behind the schedule.

Udham Kaur (77) died of severe cold this morning at Budh Ram Colony in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab, official reports said here.

While the cold wave conditions claimed two lives, one each in Pathankot and Hoshiarpur districts of Punjab, one person had died of chilly conditions in Sonepat district of Haryana since the onset of winters in the region. — UNI, PTI