Dense fog hits life in Punjab, Haryana; 100 trains delayed in Delhi

Chandigarh, December 8

Thick fog engulfed several parts of Haryana and Punjab on Thursday morning, affecting life in both states. Visibility was reduced to less than 50 metres at a number of places in both states.

The minimum temperature continued to dip at most places. It was recorded at 5.5 to 8 degrees at some places.

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Road, rail and air services were affected due to the thick fog. The visibility at Ambala and Karnal in Haryana and Amritsar and Patiala in Punjab was reported to be less than 50 metres. Flight operations were affected at the Chandigarh International airport and the Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International airport in Amritsar.

The airport and other areas in and around Amritsar were engulfed with dense fog, affecting domestic and international flights.

Punjab's 553-km long international border was under the blanket of very thick fog with virtually zero visibility, a Border Security Force (BSF) official said in Amritsar.

Traffic movement on the busy National HIghway No. 1 (NH-1), which runs through Punjab and Haryana, connecting Amritsar with Delhi, was also affected due to the fog. Dense fog was reported from several areas of the NH-1 between Ambala and Kundli border of Haryana and Delhi.

Other highways and roads were also affected by the fog cover.

Moderate to dense fog was reported from several parts of the national capital region (NCR) in Haryana comprising districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Jhajjar, Hisar, Bhiwani, Sonipat, Panipat, Karnal and Rohtak.

Railway officials said that some trains to and from Delhi and other destinations were delayed due to the fog.

In Punjab, fog was reported from Amritsar, Ludhiana, Bathinda, Sangrur, Kapurthala and Jalandhar districts.

In Delhi, at least 100 trains were delayed and two trains cancelled due to dense fog on Thursday morning, railway officials said here.

"At least 100 trains were running behind schedule due to the dense fog," said a Northern Railway official.

The 14005 Lichavi Express was running 31 hours behind the schedule 12303 Poorva Express was 27 hours behind schedule, the official said.

According to officials, at 8.30 am, at least 15-20 trains were running late by more than 10 hours, while over 80 trains were running late by more than 2-5 hours.

The official further said that the railway has rescheduled 16 trains on Thursday.

The two cancelled trains were 12501 Poorvottar Express and 15602 New Delhi-Silchar Express.

Meanwhile, according to the officials at the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which manages operations at the Indira Gandhi International airport here, no flight was cancelled on Thursday from Delhi.

—IANS