Fog hits train as Siliguri, nearby areas shiver

SNS, SILIGURI. 3 JANUARY 2018: Several long distance trains headed for the New Jalpaiguri (NJP) railway station from north India and the Northeast ran several hours behind schedule due to dense fog, even as Siliguri and its rural outskirts woke up to the coldest morning of this winter today.

However, flights at the Bagdogra Airport, save one, were not affected by the fog, and weathermen said that the temperature is likely to dip further in Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, the Hills and adjoining areas.

While the New Delhi-Guwahati Northeast Express,which was supposed to arrive at 3 AM, ran 20 hours late, the Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express was delayed by seven hours, while the Dibrugarh- Delhi Express was delayed by 15 hours.

"Several trains coming to NJP railway station are running late because of the fog. We are informing and keeping passengers updated about the revised timings, and regular announcements are being made at the station about the status of the trains," said Station Manager of NJP Tapan Kumar Saha.

Officials at ticket booking counters at the station said that railway enquiry was flooded with queries from anxious passengers.

'Today was the coldest day so far here this winter. The temperature is expected to go down further and the fog is likely to hover around the region. The situation will persist here for some days.The western disturbance has shifted towards Sikkim and because of that cold wind from the Northwest side has been sweeping across the region," the in-charge of the North Bengal University Weather Station, Prof Subir Sarkar, said.

According to him, the maximum and minimum temperatures were 22.5, three degrees below normal and 10.5 degrees Celsius, at least one degree below normal, respectively.

Mr Sarkar predicted that severely cold conditions would sweep in from the north, leading to snow flurries in the Hills during the next few days. "An exceptionally prolonged period of widespread cold is highly likely to develop throughout this winter and last into next spring. Into the beginning of next week, there are some colder conditions s pleading down from the Hills. It is going to be slightly chillier than normal, Quite a bit of the Hills will experience severe cold conditions," he said.

Meanwhile, flight operations at Bagdogra Airport were more or less normal, while only a morning flight was delayed for 30 minutes.

"Owing to poor visibility, a Bagdogra-bound flight from Kolkata was delayed, but the rest of the flights were on time," airport director Rakesh R Sahay said.