Minus 14 in Leh, heating arrangements in Kashmir schools

"The minimum temperature dropped to minus 14 degrees Celsius in Leh town and to minus 10.8 in Kargil town of Ladakh region Wednesday. The minimum temperature was minus 4.6 degrees in Srinagar city, it was minus 6 in Pahalgam hill station and minus 3.7 degrees in Gulmarg resort," said an official of the weather department here.

The forecast for the next 48 hours indicate that the weather would mainly remain dry and cold throughout the Valley and the night temperature is likely to fall further. The authorities have started making heating arrangements inside classrooms in various schools of the Valley that have been ordered to remain open during the winter months to help students complete their syllabi.

Classes had virtually remained shut for nearly five months in the Valley since June 11 when the death of a student hit by a teargas shell triggered a massive unrest here.

While government run schools are making heating arrangements through additional funds made available to them by the government, private schools here have been issuing advertisement in the local newspapers asking parents to share the burden by paying for the fuel charges to keep schoolchildren warm during classes.