Blinding fog hits life in northern India again

New Delhi, Jan 22 (IANS) Dense fog and cold persisted in northern India Friday, disrupting rail, air and road traffic in Delhi and elsewhere, and making people pray for some respite from a harsh winter which has claimed over 100 lives.

The higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh experienced snowfall. While schools in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh extended the winter holidays, tourist flows to known destinations like Agra were down, partly because of the cold and partly because of the travel-crippling fog.	 	
In the Indian capital, visibility was down to 100 metres thanks to the fog, affecting over 100 flights and 176 trains. The city recorded a minimum of 7.4 degrees Celsius - a notch below average for this time of the season. 	 	
"Rain received in the capital last week has left moisture in the air, which is responsible for the fog," said an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official. 	 	
At least 10 homeless people are reported to have died in Delhi this winter. The shortage of night shelters has made life difficult for many of the capital's 150,000 homeless people.	 	
The weather was just as difficult in Uttar Pradesh, with fog engulfing most parts of the sprawling state including capital Lucknow, where just two hours of sunshine was soaked up eagerly by residents. 	 	
A number of trains, including the Delhi-Lucknow Swarna Shatabdi Express and Delhi-Lucknow Gomti Express, were cancelled. The fog also delayed the arrival of many trains at the Lucknow railway station by three-12 hours.	 	
A dense fog engulfed Agra in the morning. District authorities Thursday extended holidays for primary and junior schools by another three days. 	 	
The tourist inflow to Agra has dipped in the past two weeks as trains have been running late and driving has become risky due to the fog, said Rakesh Chauhan, president of the Agra Hotels and Restaurants Association. 	 	
In the past two days, at least a dozen accidents have taken place in Agra because of poor visibility. There were two fatalities Thursday. 	 	
Foggy and overcast conditions prevailed in most parts of Chandigarh as well as Punjab and Haryana Friday. Amritsar was the coldest in this region with a minimum temperature of minus 1.2 degrees Celsius - five degrees below normal.	 	
Weathermen say similar conditions will continue in the coming days.	 	
In Bihar, where at least 100 people are believed to have died this winter, the biting cold has thrown life out of gear. 	 	
The government has been forced to extend the closure of schools which may reopen Jan 25. 	 	
"All public and private schools are yet to reopen after Christmas holidays as the intense cold has forced the government to extend the closure of schools four times in the past three weeks. It has hit school education," said Chanchal Singh, the mother of a student from St. Michael school. 	 	
The higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh experienced moderate to heavy snowfall Friday, the Met office said. The government has evacuated 40 people from snow-bound Lahaul and Spiti district.	 	
"The higher reaches of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Chamba and Kullu districts have been experiencing moderate to heavy snowfall since Friday morning," Manmohan Singh, director of meteorological office here, said.	 	
While Keylong, the headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti, recorded a low of minus 9.6 degrees, it was minus 3 degrees Celsius at Kalpa in Kinnaur district.	 	
Shimla witnessed a partly cloudy day in the morning but as the day progressed the sky cleared up.