By Our Correspondent, Sarlahi/ Mahottari, Jan 18: Many schools in various districts in Province 2 have started closing due to the biting cold that has continued to engulf the region. The schools only reopened recently after remaining closed for a long time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to our Sarlahi correspondent, Lalbandi Municipality, in Sarlahi district, has remained closed schools for the last four days.

Basudev Timalsina, education section head of the Municipality, said that all community and institutional schools of the Municipality have remained closed due to the incessant cold wave as well as dense fog that have enveloped the Province over the past week. On Sunday, it has issued a notice stating that the schools would remain closed from January 19 to 22.

On the occasion of Sacrifice Day, the Province Government has given a public holiday on Monday. Of the 20 municipalities in the district, Lalbandi Municipality is the first to announce the closure of schools.  There are 48 community and 29 institutional schools in the Municipality.

Meanwhile, according to our Mahottari correspondent, municipalities -- including Jaleshwor and Ramgopalpur -- have closed their schools after the cold wave started affecting day-to-day life there.

The Ramgopalpur Municipality has stated that schools have been closed for six days due to the extreme cold. Dhirendra Lal Karna, chief administrative officer of Ramgopalpur Municipality said all the schools in Ramgopalpur Municipality would remain closed from January 17 to 22. Similarly, Jaleshwor Municipality has also given winter leave from Sunday to Tuesday.

Likewise, Hari Prasad Mandal, head of Matihani Municipality said that they would close the school if the situation doesn’t improve.

People's lives have been getting increasingly uncomfortable in Tarai over the last week as the sun has failed to show up.

Meanwhile, the District Disaster Management Committee led by Chief District Officer Keshav Prasad Vimli, has decided to purchase warm clothes worth Rs. 500,000 using District Disaster Management Fund to save the people there from the harsh weather.