Mercury Plummets In Ooty
By D.Radhakrishnan in Udhagamandalam:
With this vacation destination experiencing severe frost for the past few days, Thalakundah, a suburban area off the Ooty-Mysore highway, has turned out to be a major tourist attraction. Thousands of peregrinators are flocking to Thalakundah every morning to get an eyeful of the open spaces, wearing a white carpet look on account of the thick ground frost. Among the visitors are many locals from different parts of the district. Consequently, the stretch of highway passing through the area is choked with vehicles. With many of them unable to resist taking videos and photographs, social media is flooded with moving and still images of Thalakundah and its surroundings, presenting a Kashmir-like appearance, early in the morning.
Longtime residents of the area are of the view that the current frost is akin to the frost of yore. Enquiries reveal that the extremely nippy conditions, particularly between dusk and dawn, not only in Thalakundah but also in many other parts of this hill station, will continue for a few more days.
The frost was also severe in the Western Catchment, Pykara, Parsons Valley, Mukurthi, Wenlock Downs, and Sandynullah. Observers told this writer that the minimum temperature ranged between zero and minus three degrees Celsius in different places. As a result, they appeared to be covered with white sheets during the wee hours of the morning. Water, even in taps, has turned into icicles in some places.
Owing to the shivering conditions, the people are heading home earlier than usual. The demand for caps and sweaters has gone up. To keep the cold at bay, autorickshaw and taxi drivers are lighting bonfires at street corners in the evening.
Among those affected badly by the frost are casual labourers engaged in farm operations early in the morning and after dusk.
At the Government Botanical Garden, the Government Rose Garden, and other gardens, precautionary measures have been initiated to protect some of the vulnerable flower beds. Carpet beds are being covered with polythene sheets.
Tea growers in Udhagamandalam and the surrounding areas are bracing themselves for a drop in yield.
