E-Paper
Orange alert for fog in Punjab, Hry for next two days
On Saturday, the trains at Ambala Cantonment railway station were running late by half an hour to nearly 17 hours, due to the weather, resulting in multiple re-scheduling of trains.
Dense fog over the last fortnight has put life out of gear in Punjab and Haryana with the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing an orange alert for “dense to very dense fog” for the next two days.
The residents are facing harsh cold-weather conditions and dense fog during the morning and late-night hours, for which the weather department has issued an alert till Wednesday.
The prevailing climatic conditions continued to impact the train operations with several trains running behind schedule, leaving commuters struggling in the cold.
On Saturday, the trains at Ambala Cantonment railway station were running late by half an hour to nearly 17 hours, due to the weather, resulting in multiple re-scheduling of trains.
As per figures at 7pm, New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi express (12013) was running late by 2.5 hours, Sachkhand express (12715) by 17.5 hours, CSMT-Amritsar express (11057) was running late by nearly 11 hours and Sealdah-Amritsar Jallianwala Bagh express (12379) by 7.5 hours.
Similarly, Jhelum express (11077) was late by 1 hour at Ambala Cantt, Pooja Express (12413) by 9 hours, Kalka-New Delhi Shatabdi express (12012) running behind schedule by 29 minutes and Praygraj-Chandigarh Unchahar Express (14217) was rescheduled by 6 hours.
Travelling by train in these conditions has now become an ordeal for daily passengers and those commuting with family on long-distance journeys.
Nitish Yadav, a passenger at Karnal railway station said, “I was to travel to Amritsar with my wife and two kids, and due to cold, I booked tickets instead of travelling in general coaches, but my train is late. We have been waiting for the last four hours and are helpless.”
Vinod Bhatia, who took over as divisional railway manager (DRM), Ambala division last week, said that regular announcements are being made at the railway stations for the passengers’ convenience, fog devices are being used ensure safe operations and extra patrolling is being conducted to avoid untopward incidents.
The ordeal is not limited to rail passengers. Those travelling by road in private vehicles have to drive vigilantly, particularly during morning or late-night hours.
Daaman Dhawan, who often commutes between Faridabad and Ludhiana for work, said, “I usually travel by train but as most of them are running late, I booked my journey through a private cab sharing app. Due to heavy fog, my driver had to drive slower and take regular breaks, thus making us late by 2 hours.”
Light rain and thunderstorms were also reported in some parts of Haryana.
According to the IMD’s evening bulletin, 14 mm rain was recorded at Narnaul, 13 mm at Hisar, 11 mm in Sirsa and at a few other places.
Meanwhile, Saragthal in Sonepat recorded the lowest minimum temperature in the state at 5.9 degree Celsius.
Similarly, Hisar’s Balasmand shivered at 6.1 degree Celsius, Narnaul at 6.3 degree Celsius and Panipat’s Ujha at 6.4 degree Celsius.
Cold weather conditions continued to persist in Punjab on Saturday with Gurdaspur being the coldest place as it recorded the minimum temperature of 3.8 degrees Celsius.
Among other places in Punjab, Amritsar recorded a low of 9.4 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal, according to a report of the meteorological department.
Ludhiana, Patiala, Pathankot, Bathinda and Faridkot districts experienced cold weather conditions at 6.4, 7.4, 8.9, 6 and 9.8 degrees Celsius respectively.
