December 28, 2002	Saturday	Shawwal 23, 1423

DHAKA, Dec 27: Forty-two people _ thirty-three in Bangladesh and nine in India _ have died in unusually cold weather this month.

The mass-circulation Ittefaq daily said 20 people died on Wednesday and another 13 on Thursday in cold weather throughout Bangladesh, particularly northern areas hit by frigid winds from the Himalayas.

No official figures have been released on the death toll. The government said it was providing relief to those hit by the cold.

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who is on an official visit to China, ordered authorities to deliver blankets and warm clothing to the poor in 10 of the most affected districts, disaster relief officials said.

The temperature dipped to nearly 13 degrees Celsius early on Friday in Dhaka and 10 degree Celsius in the northeastern Srimongol tea-growing district.

Weather officials warned temperatures may dip further in coming days.

INDIA: At least nine people have died in northern India in the past 24 hours due to a severe cold wave sweeping the region, government officials said Friday.

Five people died in Uttar Pradesh and four in Rajasthan state, they added.

The cold snap has worsened due to a thick fog over the region which has blocked out sunlight for most of the day.

Flights at New Delhi’s airport as well as vehicular movement on the roads has been disrupted by the heavy fog.

In the hilly Himachal Pradesh state, temperatures have dipped to between minus 10 to minus 15 degree celsius in some of the remote areas of the Himalayan region.—AFP