In a bid to prevent more deaths, the District Administration Office (DAO) of Mahottari has also shut down all public schools from Tuesday. With a blanket of thick fog continuing to block the sun across the Tarai, over 600 public schools were closed in the district Tuesday.[break]
The latest victim of cold wave has been identified as Bishwanath Sah, 50, a resident of Jaleshwar Municipality-6 in Mahottari. According to police, Sah was shivering with cold hours before breathing his last.
On Sunday morning, Mishri Yadav, 60, of Bhatauliya VDC-4, and Binod Chaudhari, of Aurahi VDC-3, had died of cold. Names of four of the seven dead have yet to be confirmed, according to the District Police Office of Mahottari.
Earlier, three persons in Rautahat and one in Bara district had died of cold.
On Monday, a meeting of the District Disaster Relief Committee of Mahottari, which is headed by Chief District Officer Madhusudan Burlakoti, had decided to shut all schools from the next day if there was no sunlight.
“It appears that the cold wave will continue for more days more, so we decided to shut down all public schools till December 30,” said CDO Burlakoti.
In another bid to save lives from cold wave, the Mahottari DAO has also made arrangement for campfires in several parts of Jaleshwar. CDO Burlakot, talking to Republica, has asked people, especially the elderly and children, to stay indoors in the morning and evening hours.
DAO Sarlahi has also provided firewood to the local people, who are vulnerable to cold wave. People have not been able to see the sun for the last two days in Sarlahi as well.
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