Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Varanasi has been delayed, as dense fog has engulfed the entire city on Thursday morning. The visibility in the city has been almost nil since early morning, ranging between 25 meters to 50 meters only.
Modi is scheduled to visit his constituency Varanasi to mark 'Good Governance Day' on the occasion of 90th birthday of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which coincides with Christmas Day.
Reportedly, Modi was expected to reach the city by 11 am but poor visibility conditions resulted in delay. However, as the conditions are now improving, we expect prime minister to reach Varanasi by noon, where he will be welcomed with extremely cold weather conditions.
According to Skymet Meteorology Division in India, Varanasi is reeling under cold day and cold wave conditions for the last few days, resulting in very dense fog over the area. At 10.30 am, the temperature in the city was 7°C. But as the day progresses the day temperature will rise with mild sunshine.
On Wednesday also, Varanasi recorded maximum temperature of 16.8°C, which was seven degrees below normal, while minimum temperature six degrees below normal at 4°C.
During the visit, Narendra Modi will be inspecting cleanliness work at the Assi Ghat and take part in a cleanliness drive there. Later in the day, Modi will visit Banaras Hindu University for laying the foundation stone for an inter-university centre for teachers' education, which will be named after its founder and freedom fighter Madan Mohan Malviya.
He will also launch Varanasi Mahotsav on the sidelines of the event.
