Rajbiraj: Life has been thrown out of gear as the mercury dips further following cold wave for the last couple of days in Siraha and Saptari.

People’s movement in public places has been reduced due to extreme cold, with poor and needy people, in particular, being adversely affected. They are facing problems, especially during night due to lack of warm clothes even if they manage to stay warm in the daytime by sitting around a fire.

People from both rural and urban areas, including Rajbiraj, have been hit by the biting cold. Elderly citizens and children are the most affected.

With the weather becoming increasingly cold,  the number of patients at Gajendra Narayan Singh Sagarmatha Zonal Hospital is going up. Assistant health worker at the hospital Bijayakanta Jha said the patients had complained mainly of pneumonia, asthma, fever, cold and diarrhoea, among other cold-related diseases. Jha said that some 30 to 35 patients were reaching the hospital on a daily basis.

Headteacher of Umeshwor Rastriya Primary School in Launiya, Pradip Kumar Mandal said the number of students in the school had decreased due to inclement weather. He said the school might have to be closed if the situation continued for another one or two days.

Police said road accidents had also increased due to poor visibility caused by thick fog. As many as four persons have lost their lives and 32 others were injured in road accidents over the past one week in Saptari, according to police. Also, less number of service seekers are reaching government offices in the district due to excessive cold.

As many as 423 community schools in Siraha had remained closed for the last three days due to excessive cold.

District Education Officer Mahendra Mahato said the schools were shut as only a few students attended classes and teachers faced problems running daily teaching activities. “The vacation may be extended if there is no improvement in the weather,” he said.