West Bengal evacuates 1.14 lakh people as Cyclone Dana approaches Odisha coast

More than 114 lakh people in West Bengal have been evacuated to safer shelters with severe Cyclone Dana approaching the neighbouring Odisha coast officials reported on Wednesday October 23The cyclone which is expected to bring wind speeds of up to 120 kmh 75 mph is likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port in Odisha by Friday morning the India Meteorological Department IMD statedIn anticipation of the storm flight operations at Kolkata airport will be suspended for 15 hours from 6 pm on Thursday until 9 am on Friday Apart from this the Eastern Railway has cancelled 190 local trains in its Sealdah division from 8 pm on Thursday to 10 am on Friday to ensure passenger safety news agency PTI reportedThe coastal districts of Odisha and West Bengal are bracing for heavy to very heavy rainfall and strong winds on Thursday and Friday ldquoLandfall will begin on the night of 24th October Thursday and continue until the morning of 25th October Friday The maximum wind speed during this period is likely to reach around 120 kmhourrdquo stated IMD DirectorGeneral Mrutyunjay MohapatraIn West Bengal the state government has identified 282863 people from the districts of Bankura Hooghly Howrah North and South 24 Parganas Paschim and Purba Medinipur and Kolkata for evacuation PTI reported So far 114613 people primarily from coastal areas of South 24 Parganas such as Sagar Island the Sundarbans and Kakdwip have been relocated to safetyldquoWe are working around the clock to manage the situation and ensure the safety of residentsrdquo said state Fire and Emergency Services Minister Sujit Bose Thirteen battalions from the statersquos disaster management force and 14 from the National Disaster Response Force NDRF have been deployed in coastal regions officials statedIndian Coast Guard on high alertThe authorities have distributed tarpaulins dry rations powdered milk and drinking water pouches to the localsOn Tuesday Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that schools and Integrated Child Development Services ICDS centres in nine districts would be closed till Saturday as a precautionary measure She also instructed the district administrations to relocate residents from lowlying areasA central control room has been established at the state secretariat to monitor the situation with additional control rooms set up in districts expected to be hardest hit including Purba and Paschim Medinipur North and South 24 Parganas Hooghly and Howrah PTI reportedMeanwhile Kolkata airport authorities confirmed the suspension of flight operations for 15 hours owing to the anticipated impact of Cyclone Dana ldquoIn light of the predicted heavy winds and rainfall it has been decided to suspend flight operations for safety reasonsrdquo said an Airports Authority of India spokespersonEastern Railway has cancelled 190 local trains in its Sealdah division from 8 pm on Thursday to 10 am on Friday with the last trains from coastal areas such as Hasnabad and Namkhana set to depart for Sealdah by 7 pm on Thursday The South Eastern Railway has also cancelled more than 150 express and passenger trains passing through or originating from Odisha between Wednesday and Friday with further cancellations possible if conditions worsen East Coast Railways in Odisha has already cancelled 198 trainsFishermen have been advised against venturing into the sea from till Friday as wind speeds are expected to reach 60 kmhour along the OdishaWest Bengal coastline increasing to 120 kmhour during Cyclone Danas landfall The Indian Coast Guard is on high alert mobilising vessels and aircraft to respond to any emergencies over the Bay of Bengal ldquoWe have positioned our assets to be ready for immediate responserdquo an official from the Coast Guard statedThe IMD has forecast heavy to extremely heavy rainfall for coastal areas including districts in southern Bengal such as North and South 24 Parganas Purba and Paschim Medinipur Jhargram Kolkata Howrah and Hooghly Tourists in coastal areas like Digha Shankarpur and Tajpur in Bengal have been advised to stay indoors and avoid entering the sea for safetyWith PTI inputs