Temperature in Delhi, North India continues to dip, death toll rises

North India continued to be in the grip of a cold wave on Friday, with the death toll nearing the 150-ark. Uttar Pradesh, with 101 deaths, tops the toll. The rising death toll in the state belies the Mayawati government’s claims of providing relief to the poor braving the chill for the past six days.

Maniram Singh (68), a retired RPF constable, died in police custody in UP’s Jaunpur district. The man reportedly died of cold because of the unavailability of blankets.

Interestingly, each police station in the state is supposed to spend a certain part of its budget to arrange for bonfires for the people.

Over 32 people died of the cold in eastern and western UP in the last 48 hours. In the last six days, 14 people have died in Bareilly, eight in Azamgarh, seven in Mau, six in Bhadohi, six in Varanasi, five in Jaunpur, four in Ghazipur and three in Mirzapur.

Deaths have been also reported from Ballia, Faizabad, Ambedkarnagar, Balrampur, Kushinagar, Gorakhpur, Chandauli, Agra and Ferozabad. While the temperature went down to 0.8 degrees Celsius in Agra, it was 3.6°C in Lucknow on Friday.

In neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, at least 28 have died because of the cold wave in the past four days. The minimum temperature was recorded at -1°C in Rewa district, Bhopal’s Met office said. In Bhind district, where the temperature hovered around 0°C, 10 people have reportedly died of the cold in the past three days.

According to the Met office, the cold would continue for another 24 hours. At least six persons died because of the cold in Punjab and Haryana. Though official figures were unavailable, sources said four persons died in Haryana and two persons — including a teenaged girl died — in Punjab in the past one week.

Rajasthan, which has witnessed the coldest winter in two decades, reported three deaths from Jaipur and one in Kota, sources said. Bikaner was at 0°C while Mount Abu, at -2°C, stayed below the freezing point for the fifth successive day. Kashmir has reported two deaths since January 1. Kargil town was the coldest at -10.4°C, while the Dal Lake remained partially frozen. Icy winds lashed the Jammu region as the temperature dipped to 5.9°C, the lowest in the past 28 years.

Delhiites woke up to a chilly morning with the minimum temperature dropping to 4.3°C while the maximum was 15.6°C. The minimum temperature was three degrees below normal for this time of the year. The Met office predicted a clear morning on Saturday, with temperatures between four and 16°C.