Cyclone Bulbul: Govt orders closure of schools in 9 districts

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has declared closure of all schools and Anganwadi centres of nine districts on November 9 as a precautionary measure in view of heavy rains due to cyclone Bulbul.

Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Pradeep Jena informed that all schools of Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Mayurbhanj and Jajpur districts will remain closed on November 9.

He said 2 ODRAF teams each have been deployed in 9 districts-Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Mayurbhanj, and Jajpur.

One NDRF team each has been despatched to 6 districts and fire services personnel have been kept on standby, he added.

Chief secretary Asit Kumar Tripathy directed all government employees in nine coastal and northern districts not to leave headquarters.

Collectors are asked to keep the cyclone and flood relief centres as well as communication systems in readiness and ensure that these shelters are in proper condition for use if necessary.

Cyclone Bulbul is likely to trigger heavy rains and strong winds in Odisha from Friday, said Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday.

The IMD said Bulbul will bring light to moderate rainfall at many places very likely over north coastal districts of Odisha with isolated heavy falls over Puri, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts on November 8.

 “Heavy to very heavy falls has been forecasted for Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, and Jagatsinghpur districts and heavy falls at isolated places over Mayurbhanj, Cuttack and Jajpur districts on 9th November 2019,” the IMD said.