Cold cripples life in Manang, mercury dips to minus 18 degrees Celsius

With cold soaring, the temperature in the mountainous Manang district is on the decline to the point of minus 16 degrees Celsius in the second week of December, crippling life.

Average temperature in the morning went from minus eight to 10 degrees Celsius, and around minus 18 degrees Celsius at night, said Chief District Officer Subas Kumar Lamichhane. Chame and surrounding areas recorded from minus 16 to 18 degrees, he said.

"Tap and river water has frozen due to cold. The road is covered in snow, limiting traffic. There is difficulty in managing drinking water," he said.

As a result, people have been affected in many ways ranging from the closure of infrastructure development.

Issuing a notice, Chame Rural Municipality has urged a halt to the supply of construction materials like cement. Cold has prompted the rural municipality to disrupt the supply of construction materials, said the rural municipality's acting chief administrative officer Nama Narayan Malla. "There is increasing cold prompting the halt of the transport of construction materials," said Jaya Bista, chief of the infrastructure office, Manang.

Notwithstanding, the local people have started leaving the villages to escape the chilling cold. The closure of schools and educational institutions has facilitated their temporary migration. Lamjung, Kathmandu, and Pokhara are preferable places for them to live during the cold.

Following the temporary migration of the local people, two police beats at Narpabhumi Rural Municipality have been relocated to Chame, the district headquarters, from where they are offering services, said CDO Lamichhane.