Kapilvastu sub-minicipality Wednesday distributed free firewood to residents to beat the cold wave sweeping the town for a fortnight, reports from the town said. Resident lit bonfires at town squares with the firewood to ward off the cold.

The sub-municipality bought 20 quintals of firewood from the district forest and distributed it to residents. Residents appreciated the gesture.

Meanwhile, prisoners at a jail in Biratnagar have demanded additional clothes from jail authorities after the cold wave sweeping the city, reports from east Nepal said. Prisoners get only one set of clothes in two years normally. There are 373 prisoners in the jail.