Train services in Puri to be fully operational by May 12

Bhubaneswar: After bearing the brunt of cyclone Fani, train services from Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are gradually limping back to normalcy. Ten out of 18 pairs of train have already resumed while remaining eight will be made operational by May 12, informed Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

After holding a review meeting with senior officials of Railways at Bhubaneswar, Pradhan today lauded the ongoing restoration works at railway stations in Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Puri and Cuttack.

“Urged officials to provide basic passenger amenities such as potable drinking water and mobile charging points and facilitate use of stations as hygienic night shelter points,” said Pradhan.

Out of 18 pair of trains commuting to Puri, services of 10 pair have already been resumed and all pairs shall be operational by 12th May.

— Chowkidar Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) May 9, 2019

Pradhan further urged the railway officials to repair the affected railway stations and foot-over bridges keeping in view the upcoming Rath Yatra in Puri which sees a footfall of lakhs of devotees from different parts of the country and abroad.

#ECoR releases list of trains fully/partially resumed in Khurda Road-Puri Section #CycloneFaniAftermath pic.twitter.com/LG5gppfQ4B

— OTV (@otvnews) May 9, 2019

The Union Minister also met officials of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), SBI and other financial institutions and reviewed the status of financial services restoration efforts in cyclone Fani-affected areas.

As per latest decisions, bank officials have been asked to keep the ATMs and banks operational using generators and other means. All the six SBI branches in Puri are now operational and people can now withdraw Rs 2,000 using their passbooks, informed sources.

“Economic reconstruction of Puri and other affected areas is a herculean task. Have suggested all banks to expedite settling of insurance claims. A control room is being set up to enable round the clock coordination among the banking partners. Considering the disruption in power supply, I have assured door step delivery of Diesel to power Gensets and make the banks functional,” tweeted Pradhan.

Bank officials informed that out of the total 173 ATMs in Puri, 20 ATMs have been made operational. Similarly, 157 ATMs out of 1164 ATMs in Bhubaneswar and 162 out of 593 ATMs in Cuttack city and district are now functional.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan writes to FM Arun Jaitley urging for a special scheme with beneficial interest rates to help revive hospitality industry in #Puri & productive sectors like poultry, fishing, agriculture & animal husbandry which have been affected by #CycloneFani pic.twitter.com/QH2OFwzgDT

— OTV (@otvnews) May 9, 2019