Cyclone Yaas: Kolkata airport suspends flight operations on May 27 till 7:45 pm, 38 long-distance trains cancelled

New Delhi: Ahead of cyclone Yaas landfall, The Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International airport in West Bengal's Kolkata suspended all flight operations between 8.30 am and 7.45 pm on Wednesday in view of in the wake of the impending cyclone 'Yaas'. 

"In view of the weather warning by @Indiametdept over #CycloneYaas, flight operations at #KolkataAirport will be suspended from 0830 IST upto 1945 IST on 26.05.2021.We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused," Kolkata Airport wrote in a post on Twitter. 

Airliner IndiGo also in a tweet said that due to the cyclone its flight operations will be impacted. "#6ETravelAdvisory: Due to Cyclone Yaas, flight operations at #Kolkata will be impacted tomorrow, 26th May'21. Please visit http://bit.ly/2QCfBUK to check the flight status and Plan B https://bit.ly/36u4Mh9 to opt for alternate options or get a refund for your cancelled flight," IndiGo said in a tweet.

Railways also announced the cancellation of 38 long-distance South-bound and Kolkata-bound passenger trains in view of the impending cyclone. "38 long-distance South-bound and Kolkata-bound passenger trains will remain cancelled from May 24 to May 29. Railways will refund the ticket charges to the passengers," informed Northeast Frontier Railway.

The Defence Ministry has deployed Army columns with high-end equipment in several districts for post-cyclone relief work. "17 integrated Cyclone Relief Columns of Army, comprising specialised personnel with associated equipment and inflatable boats have been deployed. Columns have been prepositioned at Purulia, Jhargram, Birbhum, Bardhaman, West Midnapur, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas. Nine Cyclone Relief columns have also been kept on standby at Kolkata for redeployment as necessary in West Bengal at short notice," said the Defence Ministry. 

The IMD has predicted that the cyclonic storm Yaas is going to intensify into a 'very severe cyclonic storm' in the next 12 hours. "The severe cyclonic storm Yaas over the east-central Bay of Bengal moved north-northwestwards with a speed of about 9 kmph during the past six hours. It is very likely to intensify further into a very severe cyclonic storm during the next 12 hours. It would continue to move north-northwestwards, intensify further and reach the northwest Bay of Bengal near North Odisha and West Bengal coasts by May 26 early morning," the weather agency said. 

Over 3 lakh have already been evacuated from the low- lying areas in Odisha whereas more than 10 lakh people have been evacuated in low-lying areas in West Bengal.