Cyclone 'Bulbul' to make landfall in Bengal early Sunday

Kolkata: Intensifying into a Very Severe Cyclone, Bulbul now lies more than 500 kilometres South of Kolkata, and could make landfall around Saturday-Sunday midnight between Khepupara in Bangladesh and Sagar Island in West Bengal in the Sundarbans area, the weatherman said on Friday.

However, by the time it makes landfall, Bulbul is likely to reduce in ferocity and become a Severe Cyclone.

""It is very likely to ... cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coast between Sagar Islands and Khepupara across Sundarban delta during the early hours of November 10 as a Severe Cyclonic Storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 110-120 kilometres per hour gusting to 135 kilometres per hour," the Regional Meteorological Centre here said in its bulletin on Friday.

The authorities have asked fishermen not to venture out into the north and central Bay of Bengal along the Odisha and West Bengal coast from Friday keeping in mind the likely impact of cyclone Bulbul.

The fishermen have also been barred from going to the seas adjoining the Sundarbans delta on Saturday and Sunday.

All fishermen in the deep seas were earlier asked to come back by Thursday.

The tourists in the coastal areas of Digha, Mandarmoni, Talsari, Shankarpur, Bakkhali and Sagardweep have been asked not to take part in any sea-related activities on Saturday and Sunday.