Cold wave sweeps Raj; dense fog hits rail, road traffic

Rajasthan was in the grip of a severe cold wave that hit normal life while dense fog across the state led to delays in rail schedules.
Dense fog in the north-eastern parts of the state covering Alwar, Bharatpur, Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh, Bikaner and parts of Jaipur district hampered rail and road services.
The biting cold saw the mercury settle at 4.3 degrees Celsius in Pilani last night while Mount Abu, the sole hill station in Rajasthan, recorded a low of 4 degrees.
The minimum in Sriganganagar settled at 4.9 degrees followed by Sikar (5 degrees), Churu (5.4), Udaipur (5.8), Jaisalmer (6.4), Tonk and Chittorgarh (both 6.8), Bundi (7.5), Bikaner (7.6), Jodhpur (8.4), Jaipur (10), and Ajmer (10.2).

Meanwhile, 11 trains of North Western Railway suffered delays of up to 10 hours and more, said its CPRO, Tarun Jain.
The Jammu Tawi-Ajmer train was 10 hours 30 minutes late followed by a Lucknow-Jaipur service that was delayed by 7 hours 55 minutes. The Howrah-Jodhpur/Bikaner train was behind schedule by 5 hours 10 minutes while the Ajmer-Jammu Tawi train had to be rescheduled.
The weather office said in its forecast that the mercury would fluctuate by one to three degrees at most places amidst dry weather conditions in the next 24 hours.