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Cold wave tightens grip, death toll up 18
New Delhi, Jan. 6. (PTI): The cold wave tightened its grip over several areas in central and northern parts of the country today even as fog continued to play havoc with road and rail traffic claiming 18 lives in Rajasthan to take the countrywide toll this season to 326.
But Bhopal suffered the most, recording its lowest day temperature in 100 years.
A thick blanket of fog enveloped several areas in the north leading to three major mishaps in Rajasthan in which 18 people were killed and 48 injured.
Icy winds and heavy rains lashed several areas of Madhya Pradesh pushing down the day temperature in Bhopal to 14.4 degrees Celsius, 11 degrees below normal and the lowest in 100 days.
Mercury remained two to three degrees below normal at a number of places in Punjab and Haryana.
The Met office said that low pressure prevailing over the north eastern region owing to western disturbances resulted in continuous biting cold and dense fog in the region.
Several trains were running hours behind schedule due to fog. The Howrah-Amritsar express leaving West Bengal this afternoon was cancelled due to late running of its corresponding down train.
Meanwhile in Bhopal, cold wave conditions aggravated in Madhya Pradesh with heavy downpour coupled with thunderstorms pushing the mercury further down today as capital city Bhopal experienced the coldest day in 100 years.
Though the minimum temperature in Bhopal was 10.6 degree Celsius, normal life was disrupted in the city and elsewhere due to incessant rains since yesterday as many people stayed indoors due to intense cold.
Khajuraho and Tikamgarh was among the coldest places in the state recording minimum six degree Celsius while the biting cold persisted unabated in areas including Gwalior, Indore, Satna and Jabalpur.
The rains forced people to remain indoors as the city recorded 49.1 mm rainfall followed by 22.2 mm in Sagar and 12.4 mm in Hoshangabad.
As many as 13 people, mostly beggars, have lost their lives due to unbearable cold during the current winter in different parts of the state, while a large number of livestocks have also perished.
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