Chilika boat services have been suspended from Monday until October 29 after the Puri district administration issued an advisory amid a Cyclone Arnab alert, restricting ferry and tourist boat operations across the lagoon for public safety.
The order covers tourist boats operating from jetties including Barkul, Balugaon, Mangalajodi and Satapada, as well as the daily ferry service between Jhanikuda in Ganjam district and Satapada in Puri district. Police, block development officers and tehsildars have been instructed to enforce the restrictions and take action against violations.
Chilika, India’s largest brackish water lagoon, has more than 1,000 boats operating from different jetties, according to the report. The lagoon attracts visitors for its landscape, bird-watching opportunities in Nalaban wildlife sanctuary, dolphin sightings and visits to the Kalijai temple. The suspension therefore affects both visitor movement and the transport network used by communities around the lake.
The advisory applies as authorities prepare for rough sea conditions linked to the cyclonic storm. The state government has separately directed fishermen not to venture into the sea and asked those already at sea to return to shore. These restrictions extend the safety response beyond tourist activity to fishing settlements along Odisha’s coast.
Devidutt Mohanty, additional fishery officer (marine) for Ganjam district, said officials had begun creating awareness among residents in fishermen-dominated coastal villages. Fishery officers and tehsildars will certify that fishermen from particular villages have returned home and are not at sea, he said.
Ganjam district has 31 fishermen-dominated coastal villages, according to Mohanty, who said officials were maintaining strict vigil in the settlements. The enforcement arrangement places local administration officials, police and fisheries personnel at the centre of the response, with village-level verification being used to track the return of fishing crews.
The temporary suspension demonstrates how weather warnings can quickly interrupt transport and tourism services in a lagoon-dependent region. For passengers using the Jhanikuda-Satapada ferry and visitors planning trips to Chilika’s attractions, services will remain restricted until the administration’s October 29 deadline unless authorities issue further directions.
