By IANS,
Lucknow : An intense cold wave that has Uttar Pradesh in its grip has claimed 21 more lives, taking the death toll in the state to 51, an official said Tuesday.
Of the fresh deaths, four people each died in Barabanki and Balrampur districts and others in Shahjahanpur, Ballia, Bahraich, Jaunpur and Varanasi, the disaster management department told IANS.
The cold wave left at least 30 dead in the state Saturday and Sunday.
According to the state Met office, there would be no relief from the cold winds and thick fog for at least two more days.
“The western disturbance has left behind moisture which gets converted into thick fog. Icy winds will continue to give a chilling effect. There would be no significant change in the weather for at least the next two days,” Met director J.P. Gupta told IANS.
Fatehpur district, some 150 km from Lucknow, Monday remained the coldest in the state with minimum temperature of 5.6 degrees Celsius. In Lucknow, the minimum temperature was 0.5 degrees Celsius.
The Uttar Pradesh government has earmarked Rs.10.84 crore (Rs.108 million) for bonfire and distribution of blankets to the poor and needy, another official said.
While a total of Rs.9.28 crore is to be spent on blankets, the remaining amount has been reserved for bonfires.
Owing to the severe cold, schools have been directed to suspend classes up to Class 8 till Jan 9.