Ooty still in the grip of cold weather

The elections are just a few weeks away and the summer tourist season is round the corner.

However, the talk of the town now is neither, but the weather. Though usually around this part of the year, breezy weather is the order of the day, the conditions are unusually nippy this season.

Even many of the locals who

The Hindu spoke to said that the chill accompanying the breeze was unbearable.

They added, “Though we are well into 2014 and should be getting ready to greet the Summer, Wintry conditions — particularly after dusk and early in the morning — are making us shiver.”

Treatment

Enquiries reveal that many are seeking treatment for cold, cough and fever. Even in the other hill stations of the Blue Mountains like Coonoor and Kotagiri which are at a lower altitude than Udhagamandalam, the abnormal chill has affected normal life.

Some of tourists who were interviewed said that they had not bargained for such weather at this part of the year.

Hoteliers said that the demand for blankets which went up in Winter continues to be high.

A vendor of warm caps, Johnson, said that usually sales start dropping after the end of Winter. “However this year the continuing chill is helping us sell more caps,” he said.