BHUBANESWAR: With Dana closing in on the Odisha coast, flight operations have been cancelled from the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) for 16 hours starting from Thursday evening.
“Flight operations will remain suspended between 5 pm on Thursday and 9 am on Friday,” said BPIA director Prasanna Pradhan.
Sources said at least 28 arrivals and departures each will be cancelled during the period. The announcement came after the IMD forecast that strong winds will prevail over Khurda district including Bhubaneswar from Thursday evening to Friday morning. Wind speed reaching 60 kmph to 70 kmph is expected to prevail over Khurda, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jajpur, Dhenkanal and Keonjhar districts during the period.
222 passenger trains cancelled by Indian Railways within two days in view of cyclone Dana
Meanwhile, tourists heading home from Odisha after the cyclone alert had to face a harrowing time on Wednesday with trains cancelled and flight and bus fares going north. With 222 passenger trains cancelled by Indian Railways from Wednesday till Friday as a precautionary measure, tourists and students struggled to find alternative ways to go back to their destinations from Puri and Bhubaneswar.
As on Wednesday, almost all the hotels in Puri were vacated as the administration asked the tourists to leave the Pilgrim City in wake of the approaching cyclone. However, many are finding it difficult to return to their destinations.
“The trains have been cancelled and we were asked to vacate the hotels yesterday. Although it is a precautionary measure, there was no thought given to how we will travel back,” said Piyush Pritam, a tourist from the neighbouring state.
He added that the bus fares have been doubled from a normal Rs 750 to Rs 1,500-Rs 1,700 and cabs to Kolkata are beyond a common man’s reach.
The scene at Bhubaneswar railway station was no different. Many tourists from Puri and students of various educational institutions, particularly those belonging to West Bengal, also arrived at Bhubaneswar railway station to find a train but to no luck. Many travelling in troupes have stayed back in the station to wait till an alternative travel arrangement is made.
The crisis also led to last-minute demand for outbound flights as a result of which, air tickets to several destinations including Kolkata sold at exorbitant rates on the day. One way spot fares for the Bhubaneswar-Kolkata route was up to Rs 15,000, a sharp increase from the usual fare of Rs 3,500.
“We arrived at Puri on Sunday and had booked our stay till Friday. There was no particular travel warning then but now that the cyclone picture is clear, we decided to leave today before flights get cancelled despite the rates being so high. The only saving grace is that our hotel booking amount has been refunded,” said Kolkata’s Leena Ghosh, who visited the beach town with her husband.
Chairman of Indian Association of Tour Operators-Odisha Gagan Sarangi with many tourists are making last minute travel plans after the Puri administration asked them to vacate Puri. “Similarly, some outstation students are also headed home with educational institutes being closed for three days followed by a Sunday. As trains are unavailable, people opted for air travel which led to a sudden rise in the flight costs on the day,” he said.