Chandigarh: "Extreme cold weather conditions continued in Chandigarh on Monday and authorities extended the winter holidays for the primary classes until January 13," officials said.

The vacation had earlier been extended until January 10 but seeing no respite in the harsh weather conditions, the administration here on Monday directed all private and government schools of Chandigarh to close their primary wings until Wednesday.

"There is no improvement in the weather and it is really difficult for the kids as they are always more prone to infections. Dense fog prevailing in the region has further deteriorated the situation so we have decided to extend their vacation," said Ram Niwas, Home-cum-Education Secretary of the Union Territory.

Parents of students in primary classes have welcomed the administration decision.

"This is a right move of our administration. It is really difficult to protect children from the intense cold wave in this region these days. But it is strange that they have extended these holidays only for the primary classes as students of senior classes also feel equally cold," Deepti Sharma, a resident of the city, told the sources.

There are 110 government and 55 private schools in Chandigarh.

Chandigarh witnessed the coldest day of the season on Monday when the maximum temperature plummeted to 9.4 degrees Celsius, the lowest maximum temperature recorded in the last seven years. IANS