Cyclone Dana: Bhubaneswar, Kolkata airports to suspend operations during THESE hours

Cyclone Dana: Flight operations at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar will remain suspended for 16 hours from Thursday evening in the wake of alert over Cyclone Dana.

"Airport operation will be suspended from 5 pm on October 24 to 9 am on October 25 due to cyclone Dana," news agency PTI reportedly while citing an official statement.

Official said that more than 100 flights operate at the Bhubaneswar airport every day, recording a footfall of nearly about 15,000 people.

According to ANI, flight operations at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata will also be suspended for 15 hours starting at 6:00 pm on Thursday as a precautionary measure ahead of Cyclone Dana. Airport authorities were quoted as saying that flight operations will be halted from 6:00 PM on October 25 until 9:00 AM on October 26.

Earlier, the East Coast Railway had cancelled 198 trains that were scheduled from October 23 to 25 in view of the cyclone.

Cyclone Dana, with wind speeds expected to reach up to 120 kmph, is likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port in Odisha by Friday morning, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The IMD has indicated that Cyclone Dana is likely to move northwestwards and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm over the northwest Bay of Bengal by the early hours of October 24.

It is expected to cross the north Odisha and West Bengal coasts between Puri and Sagar Island, near Bhitarkanika and Dhamara in Odisha, between the night of October 24 and the morning of October 25, as a severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds of 100-110 km/h, gusting up to 120 km/h.

In the wake of the cyclone alert, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi convened a meeting to assess the state's readiness for Cyclone Dana and announced that evacuation efforts are in progress, with the goal of relocating 90 per cent of residents by 11 AM the following day, and noted that between 3-4 lakh people have already been evacuated.

(With inputs from agencies)