34 more deaths in Uttar Pradesh; season’s toll goes up to 233 At least 34 more deaths were reported from Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday as cold wave conditions continued unabated in North, East and Central parts of the country even as temperatures went up slightly at some places. The Capital witnessed a chilly but sunny morning with the mercury rising a bit during the early hours. There was a shallow fog in the morning hours and the minimum temperature was 4.4 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal and up from Tuesday’s 3.3 degrees. The intense cold wave snuffed out 34 more lives in Uttar Pradesh taking the season’s toll to 233 with the mercury dipping to sub-zero levels in at least five districts of the State. Five persons died due to the chill in Deoria, four each in Ghazipur, Kushinagar and Maharajganj, three each in Ballia, Rae Bareli and Etah, two each in Bijnore, Mirzapur, Chandauli and one each in Bahraich and Hathras. The weatherman said in Lucknow that the mercury fell to sub-zero levels in Gorakhpur, Bareilly, Ghazipur, Kanpur and Lucknow and the minimum temperature was around ten notches below normal. Gorakhpur and Ghazipur with minus one degree were the coldest places in the State followed by Lucknow with minus 0.7. Relief for Kashmir However, residents of Kashmir got some needed relief from the intense cold wave as night temperature rose by five degrees even as some areas of the Valley received fresh snowfall. The night temperature in Srinagar was minus 0.3 degree, an increase of 5.2 degrees compared to Tuesday night which was the coldest this winter. Kargil town in the frontier region of Ladakh was the coldest place in the State where the mercury settled at minus 15.8. Many areas of the Valley including Srinagar received snowfall. Meanwhile, nearly 170 stranded passengers were airlifted between Kargil and the twin capital cities of Srinagar and Jammu by Indian Air Force, an official spokesman said. “As many as 169 stranded passengers were airlifted between Kargil, Srinagar and Jammu in AN-32 Kargil Courier,” the spokesman added. He said 21 passengers were airlifted from Jammu to Kargil, 38 from Kargil to Srinagar, 33 from Srinagar to Kargil and 39 from Kargil to Jammu. The spokesman added that 38 passengers were airlifted from Kargil to Jammu on Tuesday. No let-up in Punjab, Haryana People in parts of Punjab and Haryana woke up to a bright sunny day after days of foggy weather but there was no let-up in cold conditions. It was freezing cold in Punjab’s Adampur, which recorded a minimum temperature of 0.6 degree, down four notches. Bathinda, too, experienced a cold night at 1.2 degrees, three below normal. Rajasthan also reeled under cold wave condition with Churu being the coldest at 0.2 degree. While Sriganganagar recorded 1.7, Pilani and Vanasthali recorded a minimum of 2.1 and 3.1. Uttarakhand experienced a let-up in biting cold with most places including Dehra Dun and those in the higher reaches registering a marginal rise in temperature. Dehra Dun, where the mercury had dropped to half degree below freezing point on Tuesday making it the coldest day of the season in the city in 68 years, recorded a minimum of 1.9 degrees. Temperatures in higher reaches also rose marginally with Tehri recording a minimum of 1.5 degrees. Coldest day in Kolkata, Agartala Kolkata witnessed the coldest day in over a decade as the temperature dropped to nine degrees. “It is going to remain at around 9 degrees in the next 24 hours,” the weatherman said. Agartala also recorded the coldest day of the decade as the mercury dipped to 4.6 degrees. Madhya Pradesh also continued to feel the pinch with temperatures dipping to sub-zero levels in some regions. Hill station Pachmarhi remained the coldest as the mercury plunged below zero degrees. – PTI Sub-zero temperatures in five districts of U.P. Kargil in Kashmir records minus 15.8 degree