The East Coast Railways (ECoR) has drawn up a comprehensive plan to cancel as many as 74 trains that will be passing through Odisha. (Representational Image)As the extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani moves closer to the Odisha coast, the state government is taking all countermeasures. The state administration has begun evacuating residents from low lying areas and moving them to cyclone shelters. It has issued an advisory for tourists in the city of Puri and ordered for the closure of all educational institutions.
As per exclusive details obtained by The Indian Express, the East Coast Railways (ECoR) has drawn up a comprehensive plan to cancel as many as 74 trains that will be passing through Odisha, as part of its preparation for cyclone Fani.
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The Chief Public Relations Officer of ECoR J P Mishra said that all trains which are expected to touch Bhubaneswar or Puri after 9:30 pm on May 2 stand cancelled. “The cancellation begins from trains starting from Kolkata on the afternoon of May 2, with Coromandel and East Coast Express,” Mishra said.
He added that trains from Bengaluru, like Prashanti Express and Chennai Howrah Mail, are also cancelled on May 2. “On May 03, all trains from Puri and Bhubaneswar stand cancelled until further notice,” he said.
Photos | Odisha on yellow alert
The storm is likely to hit Gopalpur and Chandbali, south of Puri in Odisha on Friday, the National Disaster Management Authority said in its bulletin. Coastal districts of West Bengal were also likely to receive heavy rainfall on May 3 while Gangetic West Bengal could expect extremely heavy rainfall the next day.
