WASHINGTON: Offices and schools in the US capital remained shut for the fourth day on Monday as the city’s mayor imposed a travel ban to facilitate snow removals.

An epic snowstorm battered the US east coast this weekend, leaving behind feet of snow and a severe cold, which has made snow removal even more difficult.

“While we have made some progress, there is still a lot of work to do,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser while explaining why drivers who get stuck in the snow will be fined.

The US federal government announced that all its offices would remain closed on Monday. Schools and colleges, which closed on Thursday, will stay closed on Monday and Tuesday.

In New York, Jonas left behind 27 inches of snow in just 24 hours, making it the city’s second biggest snowstorm on record.

But in New York, where the storm came a day after Washington and left early, life was returning to normal. By Monday, all major roads were cleared and most buses and trains were back in service.

Washington, DC and seven states were among the worst hit and they remained under a state of emergency, declared on Friday.

Much of the US capital appeared frozen on Monday, forcing authorities to ask people to keep off the road. City officials said they were working hard to clear the roads by Tuesday so that people could return to work.

On Monday, the city’s main roads were still being used as footpaths as pedestrians avoided ice over sidewalks.

The Metro reopened on Monday but with only limited service.

City officials, who were already using 6,000 volunteers beside their own staff, have also activated the National Guard to deal with the emergency. The city also brought in 400 additional pieces of snow removal equipment.

The Washington suburbs got it worse, some getting more than three feet of snow on the ground.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2016