Dense fog envelops Northwest; Srinagar-Jammu Highway reopens

New Delhi, Dec 23 (UNI) Dense fog enveloped Northwest India throwing air and rail traffic out of gear in several states, while vehicular traffic resumed on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway today after remaining closed for two days.

As many as 13 people have died in Punjab and Haryana and 12 in Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh due to fog and cold related incidents.

Traffic from Srinagar to Jammu resumed this morning on the 300-km-long highway which was closed for two days due to landslides and shooting of stones at Penthal.

Vehicles, including trucks loaded with fruits and carrying passengers, were today allowed to leave for Jammu. The highway will remain open as one-way.

Dense fog enveloped Delhi this morning, leading to a drop in visibility levels severely affecting flight operations and rail traffic even as the mercury dropped to 8.2 degree Celsius.

At around 0400 hrs, all flight operations at the Delhi Airport were suspended for more than three hours as visibility had dropped below 15 mts. All operations were resumed only after 1130 hrs when the fog had cleared and visibility was 1500 mts.

The fog also led to traffic jams in many areas. The minimum temperature dropped to 8.2 degree Celsius from yesterday's 9.1 degree.

Pleasant weather in UP provided respite to people reeling under cold conditions even as two more deaths were recorded in Mahoba district.

However, a slight dip in night temperature was witnessed in Kanpur, Faizabad, Lucknow and Bareilly divisions.

Allahabad at 9 degrees Celsius was the coldest place in UP.

Dense fog during morning and night hours reduced visibility, leading to delay of several trains and flights.

Six people were injured in a road accident on Bulandshahr-Delhi highway due to thick fog.

The toll due to cold climbed to 12 in Mahoba district, following the death of two farmers in the last 24 hours.

Two people were killed and many others injured in road accidents due to poor visibility caused by dense fog even as the minimum temperatures further dropped in many parts of northwest India.

A woman, died on the spot and three men were injured when a bus hit an auto-rickshaw in Kharar Alipur in the Hisar district of Haryana.

In village Sarheda, Rajendra, a resident of Matloda village was crushed to death by a heavy vehicle.

Ten passengers of a jeep were injured when their vehicle was hit by a truck on National Highway 10 near village Garhi.

The fog reduced visibility to zero at Adampur, Ambala, Sarsawa, Bhatinda, Sirsa and Hindon and upto 100 metres at Amritsar, 200 metres each at Halwara and Suratgarh and 500 metres at Chandigarh and Palam in Delhi.

People reeled under cold climatic conditions as the minimum temperatures kept low in Punjab and Haryana and cold wave swept parts of Himachal Pradesh.

Adampur, near Jalandhar, turned out to be the coldest place in Punjab, recording the minimum temperature at 4.0 degrees celsius.

The mercury also stayed low at Ludhiana and Patiala, respectively recording 6.8 degrees and 8.0 degrees.

The minimum temperature declined in certain areas in Haryana where Narnaul recorded a low of 4.5 degrees.

Cold wave conditions prevailed in parts of Himachal Pradesh following further fall in the temperature. A piercing cold wave swept Himachal Pradesh's tribal areas where the minimum hovered below freezing point. Kalpa in Kinnaur district showed minus 2.5 degrees.

Kangra and Kullu valleys were lashed by intense cold wave with the minimum dipping to 0.3 degrees celsius at Bhuntar in Kullu district and 1.6 degrees at Sundernagar in Mandi district.

Chandigarh and its adjoining areas in Punjab and Haryana were also under the imapct of cold climatic conditions as the mercury fell by two degrees celsius.

Rajasthan had some respite from cold wave due to the rise in temperature following a cloud cover. Sriganganagar was the coldest in the state recording 5.6 degree Celsius.

Sriganganagar, Churu, Bikaner recorded a fall of 2 degree. Churu, usually the coldest place in the state for the past few days, recorded 6.2 degree Celsius, Pilani in Jhunjhunu district recorded 6.3, Bikaner 7.9 and Jaipur 8.1 degree Celsius.

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