Bhubaneswar, Oct. 12: The impact of cyclonic storm Hudhud, which made landfall at Visakhapatnam, nearly 445km away, this afternoon, brought normal life almost to a halt here today.

The memory of Phailin still fresh in their minds, most residents stayed indoors. Roads wore a deserted look since morning. There was not much traffic even on the NH-5 and NH-230.

Shopping malls, eateries, cinemas and multiplexes remained closed. There were occasional disruptions of power and water supply. Some Lakshmi puja pandals were damaged.

Shutdown syndrome

Mrutyunjay Tripathy, a resident of Soubhagya Nagar, said: “There was no major impact of the cyclone on the city. But with markets and eateries remaining closed, people, especially students, faced problems.”

Swagat Kar, head of a leading online ticketing agency, said: “All cinemas remained closed today.” Inox, the multiplex located at the BMC-Bhawani Mall, also downed shutters.

Before the cyclone struck, vegetable prices had soared because people had indulged in panic buying but rates in neighbourhood shops came down today with potato selling for Rs 30-a-kg as compared to Rs 35 to Rs 40 just two days ago.

Stranded

While three flights were cancelled and one re-routed from Biju Patnaik International Airport, the railway station and bus terminals wore a deserted look.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) cancelled flights that were to pass over the Bay of Bengal, close to the path of Hudhud. While two flights of Indigo on the Calcutta-Bhubaneswar-Visakhapatnam-Chennai sector and one in the New Delhi-Bhubaneswar-Port Blair sector of Air India were cancelled, the Bhubaneswar-Visakhapatnam-Bangalore flight of Indigo was re-routed directly to Bangalore.

Airport director Sharad Kumar said the radar station near Berhampur were equipped with an advanced gadget because it transmitted information to high-altitude flights and sends data to Calcutta, Mumbai and Delhi airports.

The East Coast Railway (EcoR) cancelled 25 trains, diverted 27 and short terminated seven trains owing to the cyclone.

ECoR chief public relations officer J.P. Mishra said: “The much sought-after Prashanti Express to Bangalore will be diverted via Sambalpur, Raipur and Nagpur. Arrangements had been made so that not a single passenger suffered while travelling and those who want refund will get back their money without any hassles.”

Passengers were also stranded at the city’s Baramunda bus stand as vehicles went off the roads. Many buses, which were plying to areas not affected by the cyclone, however, were seen charging extra money from passengers.

Waterworld

While majority of the city roads remained deserted since early morning, several others went underwater by afternoon.

Major roads near Acharya Vihar and Jaydev Vihar remained waterlogged.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) monitored the situation through its 24X7 helpline. It deployed jet pumps at Hanspal, Sriram City near GGP Colony and Narayani Club in the Old Bhubaneswar area to avoid waterlogging. It kept three bulldozers, three tippers, five jet pumps and seven water tankers ready to meet any emergency.

As street lights did not function, the roads remained dark in the night.

Pandal woes

Around 30 Lakshmi Puja pandals across the city were damaged in the rain.

According to Met officials, it rained 68.8mm in the city during the last 33 hours.

It can be mentioned here that in 1999 super cyclone, all the Lakshmi Puja pandals were damaged by the wind and incessant rain.