Sunshine after a week brings relief to Sarlahi locals

By Janarjan Khatri,Sarlahi, Jan.3: People in Sarlahi have found relief from the cold after bright sunshine returned on Thursday, following a week of persistent cold and fog.

Continuous dense fog and a prolonged cold wave made daily life extremely difficult in the district. From Thursday afternoon, however, the fog and cold wave eased, allowing clear sunshine to break through.

Bikram Bhandari, operator of Janmukhi Agriculture Farm in Chisapani, Lalbandi Municipality-15, said that sunshine since Thursday morning in the Chure foothill area has brought relief not only to people but also to livestock and birds.

With no sunshine for a week due to the ongoing cold wave, farmers had been struggling to protect their livestock and poultry. As the sun finally came out, locals were seen bathing and washing clothes after several days.

Residents had been distressed as clothes failed to dry without sunlight. The sunshine after a week has also provided warmth for children, elderly people and those with disabilities who had been badly affected by the cold.

In poor and marginalised Dalit settlements, daily life has become easier with the return of sunshine after days of extreme cold.

Local Shiv Chandra Chaudhary of Malangwa Municipality-8 said people in the district headquarters were able to enjoy sunshine for the first time in around 10 days from Thursday afternoon.

As the cold intensified, schools in Lalbandi, Hariban, Godaita and Chandranagar had been closed. The return of sunshine has made it easier for daily wage workers to go out for work and for farmers to return to their fields.

Farmers have also complained that pests, including aphids, have spread rapidly in crops such as mustard that have recently flowered, due to prolonged fog and cold wave conditions.