Chilly winds make Rajasthan shiver

Chilly winds continued to prevail in Rajasthan with the minimum temperature dropping to 0.6 degree Celsius in Churu.

Poor visibility due to fog continued to affect train and air services and according to railway authorities, 18 trains were running behind schedule by two to 14 hours. Four trains were partially cancelled.

Churu at 0.6 degree Celsius, three degrees below normal, was the coldest place in the plains. Mount Abu, the only hill station in the desert state, was shivering at two degrees Celsius.

Pilani at 3.8 degrees Celsius, Udaipur at five and Jodhpur at 6.6 degrees Celsius were also quite chilly.

State capital Jaipur recorded 5.5 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal.

According to weather department officials, temperatures are expected to remain the same in the next 48 hours. Fog, especially in the morning, is likely to continue in several areas of the state.

"Cold wave conditions would prevail at a few places over West Rajasthan. Dense fog is likely to occur at isolated places over north Rajasthan in the next 24-48 hours," a weather department official said.

People could be seen lighting bonfires on streets to stay warm in Jaipur.

But for some - tea, egg, groundnut sellers - the cold wave has come as a 'boon'.

"I was selling around 200-250 eggs daily but due to the cold conditions, my business has almost tripled," said Ravindra, an egg seller on Tonk Road in Jaipur.

Like Ravindra, Nandu a tea stall owner, is also doing 'brisk business'.

"The consumption of tea at my stall has almost doubled in the last few days," he said.