Cyclone Fani: Kolkata airport to remain shut from 3 pm, Mamata Banerjee cancels rallies for 48 hours

Cyclone Fani: Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu today directed all the airlines to immediately respond to the concerns of the stranded passengers.

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Cyclone Fani: Office goers wait for a ferry to travel across a river during rainfall, in Kolkata, on Friday. (PTI)

All flights to and from Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport will remain suspended from 3 pm today to 8 am Saturday in the wake of Cyclone Fani which made landfall in Odisha and is expected to move north-northeastwards later today, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.

Earlier, the airport was supposed to remain shut from 9.30 pm today to 6 pm Saturday. A senior government official told PTI that the timings regarding the shutdown of flight operations at Kolkata airport were revised after observing the progress of Cyclone Fani.

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On Friday, the DGCA said in a statement, “Revised timings provided by AAI for Kolkata airport; From 1500 IST on 3.5.2019 till 0800 IST on 4.5.2019.”

Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu directed all airlines to immediately respond to concerns of stranded passengers. Airlines on Thursday announced to waive off cancellation/rescheduling charges of affected customers.

Cyclone Fani photos: First photos from Odisha coast as severe storm makes landfall

Taking note of the impact of the extreme cyclonic storm, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that she would be cancelling her election rallies for the next 48 hours to keep a close watch on the situation. “Have cancelled my rallies for the next 48 hours because of what could be an impending disaster #CyclonicStormFANI We are monitoring the situation 24×7 and doing all it takes. I appeal to all people to cooperate. Be alert, take care and stay safe for the next two days,” she posted on Twitter.

The Trinamool Congress supremo has also decided to stay in Kharagpur, near the coastal belt, to monitor the cyclone, news agency ANI reported.

Also read | Cyclone Fani: Full list of trains cancelled in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team, which has been deployed in Digha, evacuated over 100 people to rescue shelters, ANI reported.

The coastal districts of East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas have been put on high alert, while Nadia, Hooghly, Howrah, Jhargram, North 24 Parganas, West Midnapore and Kolkata are likely to be affected by the cyclone. Murshidabad and Birbhum districts may receive heavy rainfall, according to the meteorological department.

The state government has set up a 24×7 monitoring committee to manage cyclone-related emergencies. On Thursday, Chief Secretary Malay De chaired a high-level meeting at the state secretariat where officers of the NDRF and Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) were present.

First uploaded on: 03-05-2019 at 13:40 IST

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