South Eastern Railway Cancels 152 Trains, Coast Guard On High Alert- Cyclone Dana

Six districts of West Bengal, including North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, East Medinipur, and West Medinipur, have been put on high alert for Cyclone Dana, which is likely to make landfall between Odisha’s Puri and West Bengal’s Ganga Sagar on October 24-25.

The South Eastern Railway has cancelled 152 trains scheduled on October 24 and 25 to and from West Bengal and Odisha.

The governments of both states have decided to evacuate people and close educational institutions in vulnerable areas. The Indian Coast Guard on Tuesday said it was on high alert and had mobilised its vessels and aircraft to respond swiftly to any contingency owing to the cyclone that will bring torrential rain in the two neighbouring states.

IMD DG Mrutunjay Mohapatra said that the entire eastern coast from Puri and West Bengal coast will likely be impacted by the impending cyclone Dana. According to IMD, the expected speed at landfall will be 100-110 km per hour gusting to 120 kmph. The landfall is expected to occur within “night of October 24 to the morning of October 25”.  Kolkata, set to be about 250 km away from the expected landfall zone, is expected to be affected with wind speeds of 50 to 60 kmph during the night of October 24 and the morning of October 25.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has directed the ministers to supervise cyclone management in districts that might be affected by Cyclone Dana. As per the directive, Jagatsinghapur will be monitored by Sampad Chandra Swain, ⁠Balasore by Rabi Nayak, ⁠Bhadrak by Suraj Suryavamsi, ⁠Mayurbhanj by KC Mahapatra, Puri by Pravati Parida, ⁠Kendrapada by KV Singhdeo, ⁠Ganjam by BB Jena, ⁠Keonjhar by KC Patra, and ⁠Cuttack will be checked by Prithviraj Harichandan.East Medinipur Police in Mandarmoni have requested hotel owners not to allow tourists.

“Schools will remain closed in seven districts from October 23 to 26 as a precautionary measure. We do not want to take any risk. Schools and colleges are sometimes used as shelters for people,” Banerjee said in Kolkata.

All educational institutions including schools, colleges and universities will remain closed in 14 districts of Odisha from October 23 to 25 in view of the impending cyclone that would hit the state by October 25.