Cyclone Biparjoy is likely to make landfall today evening
New Delhi:
Some 74,000 people have been shifted to shelters from Gujarat’s coastal region ahead of cyclone Biparjoy’s expected landfall in Kutch district this evening. Orange and yellow alert have been issued in several districts of the state.
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At present, cyclone Biparjoy is about 220km off the coast of Gujarat. It will cross Saurashtra and Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts between Mandvi and Karachi near Jakhau Port between 4-8 PM, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
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Classified as a “very severe cyclonic storm” of category 3, Biparjoy is likely to carry a maximum wind speed of up to 140-150 kmph, it said.
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The IMD said the intensity of rain will increase as cyclone Biparjoy approaches the Gujarat coast, with some areas in Porbandar, Rajkot, Morbi, Junagadh and the remaining districts of Saurashtra and North Gujarat region likely to receive heavy to extremely heavy rain.
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Eighteen teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 12 of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), 115 teams of state road and building department, and 397 of the state electricity department have been deployed in different coastal districts.
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The Western Railway said 76 trains have been cancelled as a precautionary measure to ensure safety of passengers and train operations.
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Two most famous temples of Gujarat — Dwarkadhish Temple in Devbhumi Dwarka and Somnath Temple in Gir Somnath district — will remain closed on Thursday for devotees, said another release.
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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at a meeting of senior bank officials and insurance firms told them to ensure their employees get adequate care, food and medicine, and claims originating from loss of life, fisheries, livestock, crops, boats and property should be settled expeditiously.
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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted he spoke to all three service chiefs and reviewed the preparedness of the armed forces for the landfall of cyclone Biparjoy. “The armed forces are ready to provide every possible assistance to civil authorities in tackling any situation or contingency due to the cyclone,” Mr Singh tweeted.
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Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel was briefed about the evacuation measures across 164 coastal villages, his office said in a statement. Mr Patel spoke to village heads and promised all support.
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Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also separately reviewed the preparedness measures in Kutch. He went to Bhuj Air Force station to see the work done by the Garuda Emergency Response Team of the Indian Air Force.
