Agra hit by fog, intense cold

AGRA - Dense fog engulfed Agra Friday morning and the city continued to reel under an intense cold wave as primary schools extended holidays and most tourists preferred to stay indoors.

“We thought there would be some respite from the cold after Basant Panchami on Wednesday, but the weather today has dampened our spirits once again,” said Sudhir Gupta, a resident of the city.

Though the maximum temperature shot up to a comfortable 18 degrees Celsius Thursday, bringing much joy to the hundreds of tourists at the Taj Mahal, the night temperature continued to hover around five degrees, forcing the early closure of markets, which bore a deserted look by evening.

District authorities Thursday extended holidays for primary and junior schools for another three days.

Weather officials forecast heavy fog Friday and said the sky would be partly cloudy.

“This means no sunlight this weekend and with the power situation being grim, it looks like another spell of cold torture,” said Padmini, a homemaker here.

The tourist inflow to the city has reduced in the past two weeks as trains have been running late and driving has also become risky due to the fog, said Rakesh Chauhan, president of the Agra Hotels and Restaurants Association.

In past two days, at least a dozen accidents have taken place because of the poor visibility.

Thursday night saw eight accidents on the highways around the city. Two people died on a road accident Thursday morning.

“If the long spell of cold continues for long or if there is frost, it could hit the potato and mustard crop,” said agriculturist Ravi Singh.

But luckily there have been spells of sunshine and the fields are still wet, so there has been no damage to crops so far, he added.