Cyclone Dana: Normal life remained affected in Odisha's capital Bhubaneswar on Thursday with many people preferring to stay indoors in view of Cyclone 'Dana' which is moving towards the state's coastal region and is likely to affect nearly half of the state's population. Vehicular movement was low in the state capital while few people were seen at the city's Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bus Terminal, airport, and railway station. Few passengers were seen at the busy Bhubaneswar railway station due to the cancellation of 203 trains by the East Coast Railway (ECoR). Some tourists were seen taking shelter in the station. A tourist from Maharashtra said that we had visited the Jagannath temple in Puri and were about to return home by train but, we got a message that our train had been canceled. So we are taking shelter here.

40 flights affected

Another official said the Bhubaneswar airport authorities have decided to suspend flight operations from 5 pm on October 24 to 9 am on October 25 given cyclone 'Dana'. During the 16-hour flight suspension, around 40 flights, both domestic and international, will be affected, disrupting the travel plans of many passengers, the official said. The state government has closed all educational institutions in Bhubaneswar from October 23 to 25. Government offices, banks, shops, malls, and commercial establishments remained open but the crowd was less than on normal days.

Heavy rain forecast

An official of the government 'Capital' hospital in the city said that very few people came to the hospital during the day. Bhubaneswar Airport Director Prasanna Pradhan said that according to the IMD forecast, the cyclone will make landfall at midnight on Wednesday. The weather department has also forecast strong winds and heavy rain in Bhubaneswar, which is not safe for flight operations. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast, the cyclone will hit between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara district and Dhamra in Bhadrak on Friday morning and the wind speed is likely to be 120 kmph during this time.

The weather office has also forecast wind speeds of up to 80 mph and heavy rainfall at isolated places in Bhubaneswar on Thursday and Friday. Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials have also made arrangements to deal with any situation arising out of the cyclone. The BMC, along with the fire brigade, has deployed pumps to drain out rainwater from several low-lying areas of the city.

Officials said that high-rise lights have also been taken down at many places across the city given the cyclone. BMC Mayor Sulochana Das said, "As a precautionary measure, we have opened 85 shelter homes with basic amenities. We hope that people will not face any kind of trouble.