Frost and chillness heralded onset of winter in this vacation destination. Many parts of Udhagamandalam hill station like the Breeks Open Air Stadium wore a white-carpet look early on Thursday.
People taking a walk or jog regularly, shortly after dawn, told The Hindu that the biting cold had subjected them to considerable inconvenience.
Enquiries revealed that the frost was severe in the Western Catchment, Pykara, Parsons Valley, Mukurthi, Wenlock Downs, Thalaikundah and Sandynullah
The sharp fall in the temperature notwithstanding, the inflow of tourists is fairly good.
While those in the hospitality industry are hoping that it will increase, on the farm front it is feared that annual crops in some parts of the district would be affected by the chill weather accompanied by frost. Tea growers are bracing themselves for a drop in the yield.
At the Government Botanical Garden where arrangements for the summer festival of 2013 have begun, protective measures have been stepped up.
With the change in weather necessitating precautionary measures, the demand for warm clothes, caps and gloves has gone up.
