 "Ports shut, 7,500 shifted as Gujarat braces for cyclone 'Biparjoy'")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday directed officials to ensure safe evacuation of people living in vulnerable locations as cyclone ‘Biparjoy’ is likely to make a landfall over the Gujarat coast on Thursday afternoon.
In a high-level meeting chaired by top officials, Modi, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Officer (PMO), directed senior officers to take every possible measure to ensure that people living in vulnerable locations are safely evacuated by the state government.
Meanwhile, in Gujarat coast, the state authorities have evacuated around 7,500 people till Monday noon and more will be done in the coming days. In neighbouring Pakistan, which is also expected to bear the brunt of the cyclone, almost 80,000 people have been evacuated to safety, news agency PTI reported.
Kandla port that handles around 22-24 vessels daily was shut since Monday morning in view of the cyclone while normal work on the Pipavav port was also stopped to minimise damage.
According to a Reuters report late in the evening, Reliance Industries, which operates the world's largest refining complex in Jamnagar, suspended exports of diesel and other oil products from Sikka port. Reliance said in a letter sent to traders that it had declared a force majeure on exports from Sikka due to the storm.
Reliance did not immediately reply to a request for comment to the Reuters report.
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The PM, meanwhile, directed the officials to ensure maintenance of all essential services such as power, telecommunications, health and drinking water, and restore them immediately in the event of any damage caused to them.
Cabinet Secretary Rajeev Gauba also held a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee to review the preparedness and directed officials to keep loss of life to zero and restore infrastructure quickly in case of damage.
'Biparjoy' is likely to make landfall near the Jakhau port in Kutch district on Thursday afternoon as a ‘very severe cyclonic storm' with maximum wind speed reaching up to 150 kilometers per hour, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
In May 2021, another powerful cyclone, 'Tauktae', had hit the Gujarat coast.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has pre-positioned 12 teams, which are equipped with boats, tree-cutters and telecom equipment, and has kept 15 teams on standby, the PMO said.
Teams of National and State Disaster Response Forces (NDRF and SDRF) were being kept on stand-by in affected districts and the administration was in touch with the Army, Navy and Indian Coast Guard, the officials said.
In view of the impending cyclone, the NDRF has deployed two additional teams in Mumbai as a precautionary measure, an official said on Monday.
Mumbai also witnessed some incidents of tree falls due to high velocity of winds since Sunday night, a civic official said.
The Western Railway on Monday short-terminated over 50 trains heading to coastal areas of Gujarat in view of the cyclone and is considering cancellation of several trains over the next three days, a release said.