Dense fog reduces visibility, leads to disruption of flight, train ops

With dense fog making a comeback, passengers had a tough time in reaching their destinations as rail, road and air traffic were hit due to poor visibility. Fog led to the cancellation of at least three flights coming to the city from various destinations and delay in arrival of as many flights.

Besides, fog also caused delay in arrival of trains as many of them reached late and passengers had to quite a long time in travelling. As per railway officials, the Hazur Sahib Nanded-Amritsar Superfast Express was late by two hours and 10 minutes, the Jammu Tawi-Sambalpur Express by 30 minutes, the Vande Bharat Express by 21 minutes, the New Tinsukia-Amritsar Express by 45 minutes and the Bhagat Ki Kothi-Jammu Tawi Express by one hour.

The railway officials said with fog clearing in many regions earlier, trains had started running on schedule but with a fresh spell of fog, these got delayed in reaching the destination. The officials stated that trains will face more delay if fog persists.

Apart from rail and air passengers, those travelling by road also faced inconvenience as the visibility was reduced to just a few metres. “In some areas, it was very clear but in other areas, fog was so dense that one could not see beyond a few meters away,” said Ranjit Singh while talking about prevailing of fog on the Amritsar-Khemkaran road.

Though no major road accident due to fog was reported on Thursday, the absence of light reflectors and tail lights on most goods carriers and trolleys was a cause for concern for commuters. “An employee has to reach his office on time despite dense fog. With most drivers unaware of the hazards caused by absence of reflectors and tail-lights, risk to commuters becomes even graver,” said Harmanjit Singh, another resident.