Cold wave sweeps Odisha

The cold wave sweeping Odisha today tightened its grip over several districts including the mountainous Kandhamal where the mercury plummeted sharply disrupting normal life.
The lowest temperature of the season was recorded at 3 degree Celsius at Belghar while Daringiri recorded 5.2 degree Celsius today, Meteorological sources said.
The district headquarter town of Phulbani recorded 5.6 degree Celsius, the MeT centre said.
The fall in the mercury level has led to increased tourist inflow to the picturesque district particularly Daringbadi, known as the Darjeeling of Odisha.
At present about 60 foreign tourists are visiting the Kandhmal district to enjoy its scenic beauty, green forests, and wildlife, tourist Officer at Kandhamal, Manoranjan Dash said.

Meanwhile, the cold wave has compounded the woes of homeless people. Birds and fishes in ponds in Belghar, Daringbadi, Tumudibandh, Kotagarh, Balliguda and Phulbani areas were found dead due to the cold, sources said.
Attendance at educational institutions in many areas of the tribal dominated district also thinned in the past three days due to the piercing cold, they said.
Elsewhere in the state too, the cold wave intensified with the mercury falling to 7.9 degree Celsius in Keonjhargarh, 8.3 degree Celsius in Sambalpur, 8.9 deg C at Sundargarh, 9 deg C at Titlagarh and Angul and 9.9 deg C in Koraput, the MeT centre here said.