AIIMS PG 2019 exam in Bhubaneswar cancelled due to cyclone Fani

The Union Health Ministry Friday announced cancellation of Bhubaneswar as a centre for the AIIMS PG 2019 examination due to cyclone 'Fani'. The cyclone rolled through Odisha on Friday, packing rain and windstorm that gusted up to 175 kmph, leaving at least three people dead, blowing away thatched houses, and swamping towns and villages.

"AIIMS PG exam is scheduled on 5th May. Due to cyclone Fani, AIIMS Delhi is cancelling the exam centre in Bhubaneswar. Another exam will be conducted for students affected by this cancellation as soon as normalcy returns (sic)," Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan tweeted.

According to sources, a part of the roof of a building at AIIMS Bhubaneswar was also ripped off in the cyclonic storm, but all students, staff and patients were learnt to be safe. The extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Fani' or the 'Hood of Snake' made landfall around 8 am in Puri, with roaring winds flattening huts, enveloping the pilgrim town in sheets of rain, and submerging homes in residential areas.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) DIG Randeep Rana said not many casualties were reported so far as precautionary measures were in place. The state administration had evacuated nearly 11 lakh people two days ahead of the cyclone from about 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations in probably the largest evacuation exercise at the time of a natural calamity in the country.

The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially designed cyclone centres.

After the landfall, the system is passing through Khurda, Cuttack, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore before it would enter West Bengal, an official said, adding that Bhubaneswar was likely to be hit by high velocity wind of around 140 kmph.