In 2 hours, temple town Puri turned into a ghost town
Debabrata.Mohapatra@timesgroup.com
Puri:5.5.2019
The pilgrim town of Puri in Odisha was unnaturally still at 6am on Friday. The servitors of the Jagannath Temple had opened the main doors of the shrine as usual but the normal crowd was missing. Puri — a ghost town minus its tourists — was waiting for its tryst with Cyclone Fani.
In two hours, the town was tossed up and down like a plaything. As the nightmare continued till noon, TOI saw from close range the fury nature wreaked on this seaside town.
On Friday, it was possible to step out on the beach till about 7am. Soon after, a strong wind triggered a sand storm. Within minutes, everything turned hazy as the cyclone inched closer to the beach.
At a beachfront hotel’s entrance on the ground floor, the shrill whistling sound of the gale was the only thing that was audible. In minutes, the wind smashed the glass windowpanes of the hotel’s rooms.
As the wind speed started easing around 12.30pm, scenes of destruction were everywhere. In the absence of cabs and auto-rickshaws, people had no choice but to walk across the town.
While thatched shanties were completely blown away, the residences of even the collector, the SP and other government officials could not escape damage.
Full report on www.toi.in
Debabrata.Mohapatra@timesgroup.com
Puri:5.5.2019
The pilgrim town of Puri in Odisha was unnaturally still at 6am on Friday. The servitors of the Jagannath Temple had opened the main doors of the shrine as usual but the normal crowd was missing. Puri — a ghost town minus its tourists — was waiting for its tryst with Cyclone Fani.
In two hours, the town was tossed up and down like a plaything. As the nightmare continued till noon, TOI saw from close range the fury nature wreaked on this seaside town.
On Friday, it was possible to step out on the beach till about 7am. Soon after, a strong wind triggered a sand storm. Within minutes, everything turned hazy as the cyclone inched closer to the beach.
At a beachfront hotel’s entrance on the ground floor, the shrill whistling sound of the gale was the only thing that was audible. In minutes, the wind smashed the glass windowpanes of the hotel’s rooms.
As the wind speed started easing around 12.30pm, scenes of destruction were everywhere. In the absence of cabs and auto-rickshaws, people had no choice but to walk across the town.
While thatched shanties were completely blown away, the residences of even the collector, the SP and other government officials could not escape damage.
Full report on www.toi.in
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