All flights from Bhubaneswar Airport suspended for next 24 hours, as cyclone Fani advances
All flight operations from Bhubaneswar Airport have been suspended for 24 hours, starting midnight, in view of the impending cyclonic storm Fani, which is menacingly advancing towards the Odisha coast at wind speeds of 170-180 kmph. The announcement comes after the government held a high-level meeting on Thursday, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to review the preparedness for cyclone Fani. The meeting was attended by the cabinet secretary, principal secretary to the PM, additional principal secretary to the PM, home secretary and senior officials from IMD, NDRF, NDMA and the PMO. PM Modi instructed the officials to step up preventive measures in the affected states, including Odisha, and also take effective steps for relief and rescue operations.
According to the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), the storm is likely to make landfall on Odisha coast between 12 pm and 2 pm, instead of 5:30 pm forecast earlier. OSDMA spokesperson Sangram Mohapatra said all colleges and small business establishments will be closed tomorrow. The state government has started evacuating people from the coastline areas as per the directives of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
So far, the government has already evacuated over 8 lakh people to safer places as the storm gathers strength in the Bay of Bengal. Gusts in excess of 200 kmph with up to 300 mm of rain are expected to hit Gopalpur and Chandbali, south of Puri in Odisha, reports said. Currently, Fani lay centred over the Bay of Bengal and it is heading towards Odisha with wind speeds of up to 170 km per hour.
The East Coast Railways said a special train from Puri to Shalimar, with reserved and unreserved berths, has started operation from today to met the current rush as people are travelling to stay away from the affected areas. Its stoppages are at Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jajpur, Kendujhar road, Bhadrak, Balasore and Kharagpur. The train will reach Bhubaneswar at 1:30 pm. East Coast Railways has also issued an advisory to cancel or regulate trains which might get affected due to cyclone Fani. Trains will not ply in the section between Bhadrak-Bhubaneswar-Puri-Visakhapatnam during the extreme weather condition, East Coast Railways said.
