Nor'westers affect normal life in Odisha

Normal life in several parts of Odisha was affected due to Nor'westers accompanied by rain and thunderstorms on Wednesday.

Bhubaneswar Met Director Sarat Chandra Sahu said: "A cloud mass that had formed near Odisha-West Bengal border is moving towards the south triggering heavy rains in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. It is likely to move towards Puri first and then to the Bay of Bengal."

Many people were seen stranded at railway stations and different bus stops due to waterlogging.

The East Coast Railway (ECoR) cancelled four trains, partially cancelled three and controlled more than 10 trains at several places due to the inclement weather.

Overhead wires of the railways were damaged at several places, including near Retang in Bhubaneswar, while signalling system has also been affected due to the squalls, said an official.

Services of Angul-Puri Passenger, Tata-Kacheguda Special, Talcher-Puri Passenger, Bhadrak-Bhubaneswar Passenger, Puri-Cuttack Passenger, Palasa-Cuttack Passenger, Secunderabad-Howrah Falaknuma Express, Bangalore Cant-Bhubaneswar Express, Puri-Santragachhi Passenger, Puri-New Delhi Nandankanan Express were in waiting at different stations.

The Cuttack-Paradeep-Cuttack Passenger and Cuttack-Bhadrak-Cuttack Passenger were cancelled.

The Cuttack-Puri Passenger will originate from Mancheswar instead of Cuttack while Bhubaneswar-Brahmapur Passenger will run up to Balugaon and will return to Bhubaneswar as Brahmapur-Bhubaneswar Passenger from Balugaon to Bhubaneswar, said the official.

Services of Bhubaneswar-Brahmapur-Bhubaneswar Passenger will remain cancelled between Balugaon and Brahmapur from both the directions.

Palasa-Cuttack Passenger and Cuttack-Puri Passenger will remain cancelled between Mancheswar and Cuttack.

Meanwhile, a Bhubaneswar-bound flight from New Delhi was diverted to Kolkata on Wednesday due to bad weather in the city.

The Vistara UK 785 Delhi-Bhubaneswar flight, which left Delhi at 7 a.m. and was scheduled to reach Bhubaneswar at 9.05 am, was diverted to Kolkata due to bad weather here, the airline sources said.

--IANS

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