20 killed due to lightning and cold wave

New Delhi, Mar 12 (UNI) At least 15 people were killed across Uttar Pradesh today in incidents of lightning, while five pilgrims, including two children, died of intense cold conditions on their way to Vaishnodevi cave shrine on Trikuta hills at Katra in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district.

Four deaths each were reported in Ballia and Varanasi and two each in Maharajganj, Balrampur and Mirzapur and one in Ghazipur, while 12 students received burns after lightning struck their school building in Soren village.

Ten others were also hospitalised due to the intense cold conditions, while on their way to Vaishnodevi cave shrine.

Chilly conditions revived at most places in the north-west region following another spell of moderate to heavy snowfall in Himachal Pradesh and rain in the lower areas of the hilly state and plains of Punjab and Haryana for the second consecutive day.

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, witnessed heavy snowfall since early this morning after overnight rains. Traffic movement in the city was disrupted following unrelenting swowfall.

This was the first major snowfall during 2007 in the city.

All incoming and outgoing flights were also cancelled due to heavy snowfall in the Kashmir valley.

The valley remained cut off from the rest of the country for the second day due to closure of 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway due to landslides, and heavy snowfall.

Fresh rain triggered massive landslides and shooting stones at Penthal where a portion of the road has been damaged.

Uttarakhand also witnessed heavy snowfall in the higher ranges of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri and Chamoli.

According to the weather department, the weather is likely to remain gloomy for two to three days due to western disturbances.

People have been warned not to venture out to cross the Rohtang Pass due to threat of avalanches.

The Hindustan-Tibet national highway was blocked beyond Shimla due to heavy snowfall.

Temperatures across the state dipped because of continuing snow and rain with the minimum at Shimla dipping to three degrees, as against 4.4 degree recorded yesterday, while the night temperature at Kalpa and Keylong being minus 3.1 and minus 2.6 degree Celsius respectively.

In Delhi, the hot and sunny weather of the past week gave way to a wet and chilly weather in the capital as moderate to heavy rains lashed Delhi since last night, plummeting the mercury by several degrees.

The rainfall, coupled with cold Southwesterly winds, led to a sharp drop in maximum temperature in Delhi to 21.3 Degrees Celsius, nine degrees below normal. The drastic fall in mercury, from 28.7 Degree Celsius yesterday, lent a chill to the air, after nearly a week of hot and sunny weather during the post-Holi period.

Over 40 mm of rainfall was recorded since last night. The cool weather in Delhi and other parts of North-West India could prevail in the next couple of days with the weatherman forecasting more rain and thundershowers in plains of North-West India, including Delhi, in the next 24 hours with some of them likely to be accompanied by hailstorms.

Widespread rain lashed Punjab and Haryana overnight, but minimum temperatures hovered above normal. High velocity winds, accompanied by rain, swept certain areas, including Chandigarh, rattling window panes and blowing off hoardings.

Rains in the region have increased the chances of pesticide attack on gram crop and affected the early varieties of wheat crop which are near maturing, according to agriculture experts.

In Rajasthan, unseasonal rains have dipped temperatures yet again, ushering in mild cold conditions. Rainfall and hailstorm, which has been occurring over the last two days, is expected to stretch into this week.

UNI