Cold wave disrupts life in Rajasthan, trains run late

JAIPUR - Icy cold winds and fog in some places continued to hit normal life in Rajasthan Monday with many trains running hours behind schedules and mercury hovering between 0.4-5 degrees Celsius in most of the state.

Jaipur woke up to a foggy morning, which affected train services. Many trains, including Sealdah Express, Marudhar Express, Jodhpur-Howrah, were running four to eight hours late, a railway official said.

The towns worst hit by the cold wave were Churu (0.4 degree) and Pilani (1.1 degrees). Jaipur, the capital city, also recorded a minimum temperature of 1.4 degrees Celsius, five degrees below what is the average for this time of the season in the region.

Mount Abu, the only hill station in Rajasthan, continued to be in a deep freeze, at minus 4.2 degrees Celsius.

Bikaner, the desert city, recorded a minimum of 2.1 degrees, closely followed by a shivering Sriganganagar at a low of 2.6 degrees.

Tourist towns of Udaipur (3.4 degrees) and Jaisalmer (3.8) and the pilgrim centre of Ajmer (5.2) recorded the lows of the season.

People preferred to stay indoors in the state capital, where temperature has been hovering between 2-3 degrees over the weekend.

“I skipped college today (Monday). I just could not take the freezing cold,” Puja Tiwari, a student, said.

Evening movie shows are also recording bare attendances because the temperature dips sharply and the cold gets harsher after the dusk, a cinema hall manager said.

Local weather office said there will not be any respite from the biting cold wave in the next 24 hours.

Temperatures would hover around present levels with clear sky in parts of the state, a weather department official said.