PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, Dec 4: IMD’s Ranchi Meteorological Centre issued an alert of heavy rain in some pockets of southern Jharkhand, due to the impact of cyclone Jawad.
The cyclone originating from the Bay of Bengal resulted in unseasonal rain in several areas of Jharkhand on Saturday.
Satellite pictures and other weather models today suggested that cyclonic storm Jawad moved northwards with a speed of 6 kmph and lay centered over West central Bay of Bengal near Latitude 16.4°N and Longitude 84.8°E, about 210 Km southeast of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), 320 km south of Gopalpur (Odisha), 390 km south-southwest of Puri (Odisha) and 470 km south-southwest of Paradip (Odisha).
The cyclone is likely to weaken gradually and move northwards during next 12 hours and then north eastwards along Odisha coast reaching close to Puri around December 5 noon.
Subsequently, it is likely to weaken further and continue to move north eastwards along the Odisha and West Bengal coasts, said an IMD official at Ranchi.
Overcast conditions prevailed in most districts of southern, north-eastern and central Jharkhand on Saturday with intermittent unseasonal showers.
Apart from showers the local IMD observatories in Jamshedpur and Ranchi recorded gusty winds forcing people to stay indoors.
The 24- hour forecast also indicated strong surface wind blowing at a speed of 30 to 40 kmph in southern and central Jharkhand
Meanwhile, South Eastern Railways cancelled several trains as a precautionary measure and took steps to prevent damages.
Close watch was being kept on railway bridges, tracks, yards and signaling systems. Silt, vegetation and other obstructions were cleared from catch water and side drains.
“We are also maintaining a close coordination with the state government, ” said a SER official adding tha patrolling at vulnerable locations was started by deploying patrolmen and watchmen since last night.
Diesel locomotives have been kept in stand-by for utilization during failure of electricity.
Apart from this SMS alerts are being sent to the passengers regarding cancellation and regulation of trains and frequent announcements are being made at the stations to inform the passengers regarding regulation of train services due to the cyclone.
