Cold wave sweeps Rajasthan, Churu freezes

Rajasthan continued to reel under extreme cold conditions Friday. The minimum temperature of 2.5 degrees Celsius below the freezing point was recorded in Churu district, officials said.

The Met Office said inclement weather would continue for most part of the week.

Ganganagar, Bikaner and Pilani were also among the worst-hit areas as the night temperature hovered between 1 and 3 degrees Celsius.

In state capital Jaipur, the minimum temperature stood at 5.5 degrees Celsius.

The weather department said the cold wave is likely to prevail for the next 48 hours with fog in some areas of the state.

Meanwhile, the state government has erected make-shift tents, "rain baseras" (night shelters) for the pavement dwellers.

"To save pavement dwellers from the cold weather, we have made arrangements in some of the places in Jaipur where we are providing them free food and shelter," an official of the Jaipur Municipal Corporation said.

The extreme cold conditions have started to affect the businesses of shop-keepers and street vendors.

"I think that my business has gone down by over 30 percent in the last couple of days as people prefer to remain indoors," said Ramesh Sindhi, a readymade garments shop owner in Jaipur.