The Airports Authority of India (AAI) canceled the operation of all ATR flights in Agartala on Monday, and the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) suspended the operations of all special Diwali trains for two days.

This decision was made after a storm & heavy rainfall prediction for the next 48 hours across the state due to the super-cyclone ‘Sitrang’.

According to reports, at least 4 ATR flights were operating in Agartala but were canceled for the day, considering the weather conditions. However, Boeing and big aircraft would move as usual.

The Tripura Chief Minister – Dr. Manik Saha, held a series of meetings till Sunday night and reviewed the implementation of disaster management action strategies to counter any eventualities.

In addition, the state administration has also declared a holiday for all academic institutions till October 26, and advised people not to step out of their homes unless an emergency arises. The festival organizers directed to avert mass gatherings inside the pandals.

The Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited (TSECL) prepared alternative arrangements to ensure a steady power supply in case of any disasters.

It is worth noting that “the deep depression is very likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm on October 24, and then cross the Bangladesh coast on October 25 early morning.”

“It is very likely to move north-northeastwards, and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm tomorrow, the 24th of October. It is likely to cross the Bangladesh coast between Tinkona Island and Sandwip, close to Barisal on October 25 early morning,” informed an IMD release.

As per the release, “Very heavy rainfall is also very likely over Arunachal Pradesh on Monday and Tuesday; Assam and Meghalaya and Mizoram and Tripura on Monday. Isolated extremely heavy falls are also very likely over south Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura on Tuesday.”

Therefore, the Tripura Government has directed the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to depute additional five teams in Kumarghat, Teliamura, Agartala, Udaipur, and Santirbazar.