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| Sunday, 19 January 2003 |
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South Asian cold snap kills more than 1,250 people NEW DELHI, Jan 18 (Reuters) - South Asia's worst winter in decades has killed a further 71 people, taking the death toll to more than 1,250 as the region's homeless struggled to keep warm in near freezing temperatures. Officials, speaking on Saturday, said the cold snap was the worst in north India since the 1960s and forecast temperatures there would remain low for several days. They said temperatures would rise in neighbouring Bangladesh before falling again. The cold spell in northern India, Nepal and Bangladesh started around Christmas and has disrupted road, rail and air traffic across the region. Authorities in India have organised bonfires in the streets to keep the homeless warm. Indian weather official R.K. Verma said the cold spell was the worst since 1962 and at least two towns had recorded temperatures of zero degrees Celsius (34 degrees Fahrenheit). "What has made the cold more severe is the absence of sunshine that has brought down day temperatures," Verma told Reuters. Although temperatures in South Asia do not fall as low in North America and Europe, people have been hit harder because millions in the region live on pavements or in makeshift shacks. Officials say most victims have been homeless and beggars. The northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, capped in the north by Himalaya mountains, accounted for 56 of the latest deaths, raising the toll there this winter to more than 550. A further 12 people died in the eastern state of Bihar, taking the toll there to 100. Indian authorities have shifted some of the homeless to temporary shelters, but witnesses said many beggars and poor people could still be seen shivering outside temples and railway and bus stations. "We have sold out our stock of cheap blankets," R.K. Tripathi, a shopkeeper in Lucknow, capital of India's Uttar Pradesh state, told Reuters. "Anyone who could afford to spare even 100 rupees ($2) has bought a blanket. Many among the rich have made bulk purchases to distribute among the needy," he said. Raju, a homeless boy huddled with two friends on a bridge in Lucknow, said he was praying someone would donate a blanket. In Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Observer newspaper reported three new deaths, taking the toll there to 533. Fifty-five people have died in Nepal so far. The cold spell has also hit Pakistan, delaying flights in the eastern city of Lahore. However, no deaths have been reported. But in Bihar in eastern India, experts say the intense cold killed about 500 snakes when they came out of their holes for air after thick fog deprived them of oxygen. |
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