Orange alert for Punjab till January 4; school and sewa kendra timings changed

The Patiala district administration has announced a change in the timing of sewa kendras to 10 am-4.30 pm from January 2 to January 10. The other districts are also likely to change the timings after January 1, said officials from Muktsar, Fazilka and Bathinda. The existing timing is 9 am-5 pm in these sewa kendras, where over 430 types of services are provided.

“We will decide about the change in timings on Monday,” Bathinda Deputy Commissioner Showkat Ahmad Parray told The Indian Express.

The India Meteorological Department has forecast very dense fog over the entire state on Sunday. Very cold conditions prevailed in the state on Saturday with hardly any sunlight. The minimum temperature recorded on Sunday morning at 8.30 am was 6.8 degrees Celsius in Gurdaspur and 5.6 degrees Celsius in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar.

Cold weather and very dense fog are likely to prevail in Haryana as well on Sunday. The minimum temperature recorded on Sunday morning at 8.30 am was 7.2 degrees Celsius in Mahendragarh and 6.7 degrees Celsius in Bhiwani.

The Punjab health department has said that people can dial 104 in case of an emergency or if they want any health-related information. The fisheries department has issued an advisory on how to handle cold-blooded aquatic animals that require special care during the cold and foggy weather conditions.

Fisheries Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian said, “The state’s fish farmers are advised to maintain the water level in ponds at 6-7 feet so as to provide enough space to the fish for hibernating in the warmer bottom zone.”

The farmers have also been advised to adjust fish feed on the basis of temperature, reduce or discontinue the use of organic feed because excess feed remains unconsumed and starts accumulating in the pond leading to deterioration of the water quality.

The advisory recommended adding fresh water or using aerators in ponds to address oxygen deficiency in the morning, besides ensuring regular monitoring of the water’s pH level.

The minister emphasised the need for fish farmers to keep the oxygen tablets or powder. The advisory also recommended the use of 400 ml per acre of CIFAX in ponds to protect fish exposed to a higher risk of parasitic diseases like fin rot, gill rot, EUS and argulosis during the winter season.

Algal blooms, which appear due to the presence of excess nutrients in the water, can be controlled by the application of potassium permanganate at the rate of 1-2 kg/acre, according to the advisory.

According to the IMD, at 8.30 am on Sunday, there was zero visibility in Punjab’s Amritsar and Pathankot districts, followed by 15m visibility in Chandigarh, 20m visibility in Haryana’s Ambala district and less than 50m visibility in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district.