The Odisha government on Saturday asked district Collectors to open public buildings, including schools, for people in need of shelter in view of the plummeting temperature.
While Sonepur town was the coldest at 4 degree Celsius, temperature dropped below 10 degree Celsius in 11 districts on Saturday.
Special Relief Commissioner P.K. Jena instructed the Collectors to keep all blocks, tehsils and gram panchayats on alert. The cold wave condition is likely to continue till December 31, said the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre.