Four more persons fell prey to the killer cold in Uttar Pradesh (UP) taking the toll in north India to 69 as fog delayed flights and trains and snarled road traffic. The deaths were reported overnight from Jaunpur, Hamirpur and Farrukhabad districts of UP though the state welcomed the bright sun after overcast skies Friday, The Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. Many high altitude areas in Himachal Pradesh and J&K (Jammu and Kashmir) recorded sub-zero temperatures with the Kashmir Valley plunging to minus 5.8 degrees Celsius and the fringes of Dal Lake freezing. The mercury read 7.5 in Delhi as dense fog enveloped the city and curtailed runway visibility on to less than 100 metres. Not a single flight took off or landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi between 0200-0900 hrs and nearly 40 flights, including international ones, were delayed. Three Indian Airlines flights, to Ahmedabad, Raipur and Leh, took off using the CAT-III B instrument landing system. The fog also delayed trains on Delhi-Ambala-Kalka section and long distance trains were up to 8 hours behind schedule. Traffic on the national and state highways in Adampur, Halwara, Sirsa, Suratgarh, Hindon, Palam (zero visibility), Ambala (300 m), Sirsawa (800 m) Chandigarh and Udhampur were also delayed.
