Unusual cold snap strikes North India as death toll rises to 135.

The death toll in a cold wave sweeping through northern India has risen to around 135, media reports say.

The majority of deaths were in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Punjab and Haryana are among the other northern states badly hit when the cold spell hit from around the 16 December 2011.

Most deaths have taken place among the homeless and the elderly.

The country’s Supreme Court ordered states to provide adequate night shelters for the homeless during the winter.

“You should not allow even a single person to die this winter from the freezing cold,” the judges said.

Heavy fog and a cold wind have disrupted life across northern India with sub-zero temperatures in Indian-administered Kashmir.

The cold wave has forced schools to shut in the state of Bihar until 25 December 2011, reports said.

Indian homes rarely have central heating – a regular feature in buildings in the West.

The government has arranged bonfires at key intersections of roads in towns and villages. Blankets are also being distributed by National Government Organisations to the poor and the homeless.

Officials in Lucknow said special temporary shelters with bonfires were being set up along roadsides in the capital city and other major cities and towns of Uttar Pradesh as the cold wave pushed the death toll even higher across the state.