Central Railway to carry relief material free of cost to cyclone Fani hit states

The Central Railway on Sunday announced that it will transport free of cost, the relief material to cyclone "Fani" affected states of Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh through coaching and goods trains.

A press note issued by Sunil Udasi, Chief Public Relations Officer (PRO), Central Railway said on Sunday, "The Central Railway will transport relief material to cyclone "Fani" affected states of Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh by coaching trains (parcel van/VP/SLR, etc.) and goods trains including in less than standard composition rakes free of cost till June 2 or till further orders whichever is earlier."

The release said, "All Government organization across the jurisdiction of Central Railway can book relief material free of cost to aforementioned affected states."

"Other organizations, as deemed fit by Divisional Railway Managers of Mumbai, Bhusaval, Nagpur, Pune and Solapur divisions may also avail of this provision. However, the consignor/consignee shall have to be District Magistrate/Deputy Commissioner in whose jurisdiction the dispatching/receiving station is situated," added the release.

The release further said, "No ancillary charges like demurrage/wharfage, etc. or other are to be charged for transportation of relief material. Notwithstanding anything above, Railways shall reserve the right to take appropriate decisions as per extant policy on subject of transportation of relief material."

On Friday, Cyclone Fani made landfall in Odisha's Puri with a wind speed of over 200 Km/hr. 'Kuccha' houses were completely destroyed in Puri, parts of Khurda, and other districts. The cyclone tore apart critical infrastructure, especially power, telecom and water supply.

Lakhs of trees were uprooted blocking roads, breaking homes and damaging infrastructure. The cyclone also triggered heavy rainfall in the state. It left at least three people dead and over 160 injured along with leaving behind a trail of destructions that included damaged houses, uprooted trees and electricity poles.