Heavy rains are expected in many districts of South Bengal including Kolkata due to cyclonic storm ‘Dana’ formed in the east-central Bay of Bengal. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) gave this information. Eastern and South Eastern Railways canceled the operation of more than 150 trains on 24 and 25 October in view of the cyclone. The
Meteorological Department said that the cyclone is expected to hit the coast between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra port in Odisha in the early hours of Friday and during this time winds can blow at a speed of 120 kmph. It said that at 8.30 am on Wednesday, the cyclone was 520 km south-east of Paradip and 600 km south-southeast of Sagar Island.
The Meteorological Department has warned of heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places in North and South 24 Parganas, East and West Medinipur, Jhargram, Kolkata, Howrah and Hooghly districts of South Bengal on 24 and 25 October. The Meteorological Department has advised fishermen not to venture into the sea from October 23 to 25 and warned that the wind speed is likely to reach 60 kmph along the Odisha-West Bengal coast from October 23 and is expected to reach 120 kmph from the night of October 24 to the morning of October 25.
An official said that in view of the severe cyclonic storm, more than 150 express and passenger trains passing through the South Eastern Railway (SER) area have been canceled. The SER official said that the canceled trains were scheduled to leave from their originating stations between October 23 and 25. He said that if needed, the operation of more trains passing through the SER area can be canceled.
The Kolkata-headquartered SER area is spread over West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand. The Eastern Railway (ER) will not run any EMU local train from Sealdah station from 8 pm on October 24 to 10 am on October 25 in view of cyclonic storm ‘Dana’ over the Bay of Bengal, an official said. The move has been taken as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of rail passengers in the Sealdah division, which serves six districts of West Bengal – North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Murshidabad, Kolkata and Howrah.
The last train from Hasnabad and Namkhana stations will leave for Sealdah at 7 pm on October 24, the official said. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said it is alert and has deployed its ships and aircraft to deal with any contingency over the Bay of Bengal. The NDRF said it has deployed 13 teams in south Bengal so far to deal with any emergency.
West Bengal Energy Minister Arup Biswas held a meeting through video conference with district electricity officials to coordinate preparations to deal with any situation due to the cyclone, an official said. Biswas assured the public that in case of any power disruption, 24-hour assistance and services will be provided by the electricity department officials.
