Cyclone FANI: Special OSRTC buses for tourists from Puri to Howrah

Puri: Taking precautionary measure in view of Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm FANI, the district administration has made special OSRTC bus arrangements for the tourists from Puri to Howrah.

Initially, five buses from Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) have been arranged for the tourists for their safe return from the pilgrim town to Howrah in West Bengal ahead of the anticipated landfall of the tropical cyclone storm FANI.

More buses are likely to be engaged in service of the tourists for transportation from Puri to Howrah with increase of passengers’ number, sources said.

Meanwhile, the district administration is evacuating the tourists from Puri on war footing level over FANI fears.

A special train with reserved and unreserved accommodation will run from Puri carrying the tourists at 12.00 pm towards Shalimar in Kolkata. Two more special trains were also added in view of the return of the tourists from the place due to the cyclone.

As per the latest IMD forecast, the Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm FANI lay centered about 430 km south-southwest of Puri at 05.30 hrs IST of 02nd May, 2019. It is likely to make landfall near Balukhand and Satpada in Puri district on May 3 evening. The storm is likely to hit Odisha coast with a maximum sustained wind speed of 170-180 kmph gusting to 200 kmph.

The IMD also warned of a storm surge of about 1.5 metres height which may inundate low-lying coastal areas of Odisha’s Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts at the time of landfall.