Amidst piercing chill and cold waves at night, the poor are braced for worse in Bokaro and Dhanbad districts. Dipping mercury has thrown life out of gear and has affected people of all age groups across the twin districts.
The cold wave will continue for the next few days and people need to take more precautions, said a met department official. Snowfall in northern regions of the country is said to have caused the mercury to dip, he added.
Bokaro district recorded a minimum of 6.5 degrees Celsius with one of its other locality in Gomia, while in the hilly terrain, shivering at 3.5 degrees Celsius. Though Bokaro and Bermo town recorded minimum of 7 degrees, officials said.
Students and daily wage earners are facing very hard times. In the lack of bonfire on streets, people are compelled to collect garbage, plastics, poly bags and waste material in every nook and corner to light it to prevent them from shivering cold. Poor people including slum dwellers and rickshaw pullers are worst hit in the township areas.
Meanwhile, several NGO’s and others are also distributing blankets among the poor and needy in the twin districts last night. “We have distributed blankets among the poor to feel them warmth from biting cold,” said Shankar a social activist.
The ongoing cold waves also hit vegetation in the duo districts and may harm to the standing rabi crop worth of lakhs, said a district agriculture department official.
“Rabi crops, including mustard and its varieties, and leafy vegetables in several hectares of cultivable land wilted in the pricing cold if such condition continues for more days,” added an official.
The intense killing cold wave made the day miserable not only for the human beings but for the animals too. The authorities of Jawaharlal Nehru Biological Park (JNB) at Bokaro Steel City are struggling hard to provide warmth to the zoo inmates.