Cyclone Amphan Impact: Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Trains' Route Diverted

New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: In the wake of the threat posed by cyclone Amphan, the Indian Railways on Monday said that the New Delhi-Bhubaneswar special train will run on a diverted route for the next four days.

A senior Railway Ministry official said that the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi-Bhubaneswar AC Special Train starting from Bhubaneswar from May 19 to 22 and from New Delhi from May 18 to 21 will run on the Bhubaneswar-Angul-Sambalpur City-Jharsuguda-Rourkela-Tata route and bypass the Bhadrak-Balasore-Hijli route.

He said the step was taken to ensure the safety and security of both passengers and trains.

The official said that passengers going from and coming to Baleswar/Hijli (Kharagpur) will not get to avail of the services of this train for four days due to route diversion.

The official said that the East Coast Railway is keeping a close watch on the cyclone development in Odisha.

On Monday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a cyclone alert for West Bengal and north Odisha coasts as an extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Amphan' was looming over the central parts of the South Bay of Bengal and adjoining the central Bay of Bengal.

Besides Odisha, a warning has also been issued for West Bengal, Sikkim, and Meghalaya till Thursday.

Due to the weather condition, heavy rainfall is expected to hit coastal Odisha by Monday evening and West Bengal's coast the following day, IMD's in-charge for cyclones, Sunita Devi said.

The super cyclone 'Amphan' currently lay centred at about 770 km south of Odisha's Paradip, 920 km south-southwest of West Bengal's Digha and 1,040 km south-southwest of Bangladesh's Khepupara.

It is very likely to move nearly northwards for some more time and then north-northeastwards across the northwest Bay of Bengal and cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya islands in Bangladesh close to Sundarbans during the or afternoon evening of May 20.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked for an emergency meeting on Amphan this evening with representatives from West Bengal and Odisha.

(IANS)

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