Bhubaneswar: The Konark Festival and International Sand Art Festival has been cancelled with heavy rain and gale forecast for December 4 and 5 under the influence of Cyclone Jawad, which formed over the Bay of Bengal around 11.30 am on Friday.
The festival, which began on December 1, was scheduled to continue till December 5.
The cyclonic storm currently lies 420 km south-southeast of Vishakhapatnam, 650 km south-southeast of Paradip, and 530 km south-southeast of Gopalpur.
It is likely to reach the west-central Bay of Bengal off the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coast by the evening of December 4 and touch the land near Puri in Odisha by Sunday noon (December 5), Director General of India Meteorological Department (IMD), Mrutyunjay Mohapatra informed on Friday.
After touching the coast, it will start weakening and move towards West Bengal, he added.
Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep Jena had told the media that the wind speed is likely to remain around 90-100kmph at the time of the landfall and may gradually decrease after touching Odisha coast. “There’s also a possibility of the cyclonic system not hitting the coast if it recurves more towards the right. Even then, the system will pass parallel to Odisha coast affecting Ganjam, Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada,” he added.
Also Read: Cyclonic Storm Jawad Forms Over Bay; To Change Course From Tomorrow Evening, Says IMD DG
Ganjam, Khurda, Kendrapada and Cuttack will experience a wind speed of 80 kmph while it will 90-100 kmph in Puri and Jagatsinghpur, the SRC said.
He further said heavy to very heavy rain is likely in the districts of Ganjam, Gajapati, Puri, Jagatsinghpur and Khurda from Saturday afternoon and it will continue the following day in North Odisha districts.
Red warning has been issued for Puri, Ganjam, Gajapati and Jagatsinghpur and these places may receive above 200 mm rain, he added.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has cancelled the weekly holiday and all officials have been directed to stay at their respective headquarters. Leave of all government employees have also been cancelled, official sources said.
