Cyclone Fani: Around 89 trains cancelled, 3 special trains put in service to evacuate tourists
New Delhi: The Railways Thursday said around 89 trains have been cancelled in the last two days in view of the 'extremely severe' cyclonic storm 'Fani', which is likely to affect Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, while three special trains have been put into service to ferry stranded passengers from affected areas.
The national transporter said it will grant full refund to passengers for the cancelled or diverted trains if tickets are produced for cancellation within three days from the scheduled date of journey.
The Railways had cancelled 81 trains on Wednesday. The trains which have been cancelled include Howrah-Chennai Central Coromandal Express, Patna-Eranakulam Express, New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express, Howrah-Hyderabad East Coast Express, Bhubaneswar-Rameswaram Express.
The New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express, New Delhi-Puri Nandan Kanan Express, Puri-New Delhi Purushottam Express and the New Delhi-Puri Purushottam Express which had to begin their journeys Thursday have been cancelled.
The railways has also issued directions to the divisional managers of all zones that frequent announcements are to be made at important stations for sensitising passengers about the cancellations, short termination and diversion of coaching trains in both directions of the Bhadrak (Odisha)-Visakhapatnam section.
So far, the national transporter has announced three tourist special trains to ferry passengers from affected areas.
A special train has started from Puri at 12 noon, going towards Shalimar in Kolkata. It has reserved as well as unreserved accommodation. It will stop at Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jajpur, Kendujhar Road, Bhadrak, Baleswar and Kharagpur. The other two special trains will ferry passengers from Puri to Howrah.
Earlier on Wednesday, railways had issued instructions that dry food items, 'janata khana' and water bottles in sufficient quantity were to be made available at catering stalls of all major stations.
Due to disruption of train services, the situation may warrant transhipment of passengers. Local transporters are to be contracted for hiring of road vehicles for meeting exigencies as and where necessary.
The railways has also said that sufficient amount of cash must be available at major stations for granting refunds to passengers and meeting other exigencies. Frontline staff are to be advised to be extremely polite while dealing with passengers and leaving no scope for complaint, it said.
"Emergency control is to operated round the clock with helpline number for guiding passengers. No staff are to be allowed to go on leave for the next three days," the railways said.
The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), the country's top body to handle an emergency situation, on Wednesday reviewed the preparedness for Cyclone 'Fani', which is likely to hit south of Puri in Odisha on Friday, a home ministry official said.
Around 900 cyclone shelters have been made ready to house evacuees while troops of the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and 78 teams of the National Disaster response Force (NDRF) have been requisitioned for deployment.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Rupee rises 23 paise to 94.95 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee appreciated by 23 paise to 94.95 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday as Brent crude prices retreated from their elevated level after US President Donald Trump hinted at a possible deal with Iran.
Forex traders said oil prices fell to USD 108 per barrel, as signs of easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East offset the lingering supply concerns.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95, then gained some ground and touched an early high of 94.95, registering a gain of 23 paise from its previous low.
The rupee was later trading at 95.10 against the greenback.
On Tuesday, the rupee settled at 95.18 against the US dollar, after witnessing an all-time intraday low of 95.44 on Tuesday on possible RBI intervention after investors retreated from riskier assets amid renewed clashes in the Gulf and targeting of UAE infrastructure, which reignited supply chain fears.
The rupee, which fell to its all-time low of 95.44 on Tuesday, gained this morning as Gift Nifty indicated a positive opening of 200 points, said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
The dollar Index fell to 98.30, and Asian currencies rose against the dollar this morning in Asian trade, after Trump hinted at a possible deal with Iran, Bhansali added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 98.28, down 0.16 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 1.32 per cent at USD 108.42 per barrel in futures trade, after Trump paused Operation Freedom.
President Donald Trump has suspended “Project Freedom,” to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming progress in negotiations with Iran toward an agreement to end the war.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, “Great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran.”
Project Freedom was launched on Monday to escort ships, stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, out to safety. Trump had announced the operation on Sunday, and the US Central Command began implementing it the next day.
However, the Project led to friction in the vicinity of the narrow seaway, a key route for transporting one-fifth of the global oil supplies, with the UAE claiming that its ships were attacked by Iran. The US also claimed to have destroyed several Iranian small boats.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 657.22 points to 77,675.01 in early trade, while the Nifty rallied 218 points to 24,250.85.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 3,621.58 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
