The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), the country's apex body to handle any emergency, on Saturday reviewed the preparedness to deal with the very severe cyclone 'Bulbul' over the Bay of Bengal which is likely to affect coastal districts of West Bengal and Odisha.
The meeting of the NCMC, headed by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, was informed by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) that the cyclone has now intensified and is likely to cross the West Bengal coast by Saturday evening.
Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, accompanied by winds reaching upto 120 Kmph and tidal waves upto one to two meter are expected while the cyclone is expected to make a landfall at the West Bengal coast at around 2000 to 2200 hours on Saturday.
Chief Secretaries of West Bengal and Odisha informed that necessary preparations have been made by them and State Disaster Response Force and Fire Service teams have been positioned.
Fishing operations have been suspended and people in low lying areas are being evacuated to shelter homes. As many as 16 teams of the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force have been positioned in West Bengal and additional teams are being deployed at the request of the states.
Officials of the Ministry of Defence intimated that requisite number of ships, aircrafts and specialised teams of the Coast Guard, the Indian Navy, the Army and the Air Force are on standby.
At the same time, all out efforts for timely restoration of power and telecommunication facilities are in place. In the wake of present situation, fight operations at Kolkata airport may need to be temporarily suspended, they said.
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The cabinet secretary took stock of the current situation and preparedness for rescue and relief operations and assured that assistance, as required, will be provided.
Noting that about 59,000 people have been evacuated by the West Bengal government, he said all efforts should be made to evacuate people left behind in the areas likely to be affected.
Gauba also stressed on the suspension of fishing operations until the situation became normal.
Senior officials of the Ministries of Home, Defence, Power, Telecommunication and Civil Aviation as well as those from IMD and NDRF, NDMA attended the meeting.
Chief Secretaries from West Bengal and Orissa participated in the meeting through video conferencing.
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