Cyclone Titli: Railways to run Bhubaneswar-Bangalore special train

To facilitate the stranded passengers going southwards following cancellation and diversion of trains due to Cyclone Titli, a Super Fast Tatkal Special Train will run from Bhubaneswar, Odisha to Bangalore Cantonment, Karnataka.

The East Coast Railways informed that the train would leave from Bhubaneswar on October 15 at 7: 50 am.

The train will have stoppages at Khurda Road, Balugaon, Brahmapur, Palasa, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Perambur, Arakkonam, Katpadi, Jolarpettai, Bangarapet, Krishnarajpuram and Bangalore East between Bhubaneswar and Bangalore Cantonment.

Apart from this, at least 14 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 26 teams of Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) have been deployed across 16 districts of the state to provide relief and rescue operation to those affected by the cyclone.

On Friday, a villager died in West Bengal's Kharagpur after a roadside wall collapsed on him during Cyclone Titli. Several houses in the district have suffered damages due to the cyclonic storm.

Earlier on Friday, the Odisha government had cancelled all leaves and government holiday of all the officers in the Secretariat and Heads of Departments in view of the relief efforts that are to be provided in the wake of the cyclone and flooding in the state.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had also constituted a three-member Ministerial Committee, including Revenue and Disaster Management Minister, Water Resources Minister and Energy Minister to monitor relief, rescue and restoration work in cyclone-affected districts.

Ganjam, Gajapati, and Rayagadh are the highly-affected districts due to the Cyclone.