Mercury drops to freezing point in city, hilly areas of Zhob

Rafiullah Mandokhail

ZHOB: Like other parts of the province, Zhob city and hilly areas have been under grip of a cold wave. The residents of Zhob are experiencing chilly weather as mercury dropped to freezing point here.

Already hit by several hours long power outages and low voltage of electricity, the freezing cold aggravated the miseries of the people manifold. They are facing great deal of inconvenience owing to load-shedding that has created numerous problems and multiplied the miseries of people.

On the other hand price of firewood has also increased and the people belonging to middle and lower classes are facing difficulties to purchase firewood for warmth and cooking purposes, as the severity of weather the demand for locally made firewood stoves also increased. The price of the dry firewood has risen to Rs.800 per 40kg and the wet firewood is a little cheaper.

The wood sellers have started charging extra to worsen the situation. They are charging exorbitant rates because there is no mechanism to control prices of wood in the entire area. Following the biting cold forced the people to avoid unnecessary movements and stayed at home enjoying winter special dish ‘Landai’-traditional dried meat.

The people are seen wearing warm clothes like jackets and winter caps because of chilly weather and cold winds. With cold wave winter delights like Gajar Halwa (prepared with carrots and milk), Jalebee, boiled eggs, pakoras, soup and other are on high demand. Moreover, the demand and sale of dry fruits including peanuts, almond, pistachio, walnuts, pine nuts, dates, dried apricot, fig and cashew nuts (Kaju) have also significantly increased.