Cyclone Dana: Schools shut, trains cancelled; Odisha, Bengal begin evacuation

Cyclone Dana alert: Odisha and West Bengal governments have begun evacuating people from areas vulnerable to the impending cyclone. Indian Coast Guard, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and other forces have also begun their preparation to ensure ‘zero casualties’ because of cyclone Dana. 
Meanwhile, all schools have been shut in multiple Odisha and Bengal districts till Friday, October 25. In the wake of the impending cyclone, nearly 150 trains have been cancelled with many at risk of diversion due to harsh weather conditions. Here are all the top updates due on Cyclone Dana approaching Odisha-West Bengal coast. 
-All schools in multiple districts of Odisha and West Bengal will remain shut for the next three to four days due to the impending cyclone. In West Bengal, the state government has announced a holiday till October 26 in schools and academic institutions in multiple districts, including South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Bankura, Hooghly, Howrah, and Kolkata. 
-The Odisha government has also announced school and college holidays till October 25 in fourteen districts, including Angul, Puri, Nayagarh, Khordha, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Ganjam and Mayurbhanj.
-A depression over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a deep depression on Tuesday evening and is likely to become a severe cyclonic storm and cross the Odisha-West Bengal coasts in the early hours of October 25 with a wind speed of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph, according to the IMD.
-In preparation for Cyclone Dana, West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services Minister Sujit Bose stated that teams have been deployed at 85 stations across the state. He specified that 11 teams will be stationed in South Kolkata, eight in North Kolkata, 12 in South 24 Parganas, 24 in North 24 Parganas, six in Howrah, four in West Medinipur, and five in East Medinipur.
-Nearly 200 railways have been cancelled as the cyclone Dana has been impending to Odisha-West Bengal coast. According to media reports, the East Coast Railway (ECoR) cancelled 197 trains from October 23.
-To ensure readiness, ECoR has activated a round-the-clock Disaster Management Cell at its headquarters at Rail Sadan, as well as at Divisional headquarters in Khurda Road, Visakhapatnam, and Sambalpur. These teams are dedicated to the early restoration of train services and railway infrastructure should they be affected by the cyclone.
-With half of Odisha’s population likely to be affected by the impending cyclone that could cross the east coast, the state government has planned to shift over 10 lakh people from 3,000 villages in 14 districts to relief camps, according to an official statement.
-The Indian Coast Guard said it was on high alert and had mobilised its vessels and aircraft to respond swiftly to any contingency owing to the cyclone that will bring torrential rain in the two neighbouring states.
-Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Majhi has directed the ministers to supervise cyclone management in districts that might be affected by cyclone Dana. In a post on X, the Odisha CM said, “In case of possible storm and heavy rainfall, all the MLAs must be present in their respective constituencies to coordinate with the district administration to deal with the storm and expedite relief and rescue operations. All the MLAs should try their best to stay with the people of their respective constituencies and give them the necessary support.”