Puri: As the ‘extremely severe cyclonic storm’ Fani moved towards the Odisha coast, the state government on Wednesday morning advised tourists to leave Puri by Thursday evening as the pilgrim town is expected to get affected.
Special relief commissioner Bishnupada Sethi also asked tour operators to cancel non-essential travel to the districts, which are likely to be affected, on May 3 and 4.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the cyclone over Bay of Bengal is moving northwestwards with a speed of about 10 kmph and lay centred at 0530 hrs IST of May 1 near latitude 13.9°N and longitude 84.0°E, about 680 km south-southwest of Puri and 430 km south-southeast of Vishakhapatnam. It is very likely to move northwestwards and thereafter recurve north-northeastwards and cross Odisha Coast between Gopalpur and Chandbali, to the south of Puri on May 3 afternoon at sustained speeds of 175-185 kmph gusting up to 205 kmph, its latest weather bulletin said.
Coastal towns like Puri and Gopalpur draw a lot of tourists during this time of the year because of summer. The state government, official sources said, is on constant vigil and doesn’t want to risk any life keeping with its ‘zero human casualty’ approach.
