AGARTALA: The Tripura government on Sunday issued a closure of all educational institutions and Anganwadi centres for Monday and Tuesday following the warning issued by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) based on the red alert of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) for cyclonic storm Remal.
Remal is expected to make landfall at around 11 PM on Sunday at Kendrapara of Odisha and Sagar Island of West Bengal resulting in heavy rainfall and thunderstorms accompanied by gusty wind across Tripura, South Assam, and Mizoram for the next two days, disaster management officials said here.
Secretary Revenue of Tripura Brijesh Pandy said that an emergency meeting of State Level Disaster Management Authority under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary J K Sinha was held on Sunday, which advised the airport, railway authority, and transport operators to inform the passengers in advance if their services are cancelled to ensure public safety.
“The teams of National Disaster Management Force (NDRF) have been directed to get ready in two southern districts of Tripura – South Tripura and Gomati to respond immediately in case of any emergency and disaster, as due to the proximity of Bay of Bengal the southern locations of the state would become vulnerable,” Pandy said adding that fishermen were restricted their movement in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs till Tuesday.
However, the Airport Authority of India informed all flights from Kolkata to Agartala have been cancelled till Monday morning but flights from Guwahati, Delhi, and Bengaluru have been operating as usual as of now.
The IMD bulletin said thunderstorms with lightning, gusty wind speeds up to 50 km per hour, and heavy to very heavy rainfall are very likely to occur across Tripura for the next three days under the influence of the cyclonic storm.