Indus Valley Times

Gujarat,June 15 :  With cyclone ‘Biparjoy’ likely to make landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat’s Kutch district on Thursday, parts of the Saurashtra-Kutch region received heavy rains accompanied by strong winds, the Met department said.

This will be the second cyclone to hit the state in two years after ‘Tauktae’ in May 2021.

The IMD said cyclone ‘Biparjoy’ would make landfall near Jakhau Port on Thursday evening as a ‘very severe cyclonic storm’ with maximum wind speed reaching up to 150 kilometres per hour.

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Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday night reached the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) in Gandhinagar and held a meeting with top officials to review the situation and steps taken so far by the administration in view of the approaching cyclone, a release stated.

The state administration has shifted more than 74,000 people living near the coast as a precaution and deployed disaster management units for rescue and relief measures, officials told PTI on Wednesday.

Of the total 74,345 people moved to temporary shelters in eight coastal districts, nearly 34,300 were evacuated in Kutch district alone, followed by 10,000 in Jamnagar, 9,243 in Morbi, 6,089 in Rajkot, 5,035 in Devbhumi Dwarka, 4,604 in Junagadh, 3,469 in Porbandar district and 1,605 in Gir Somnath district, a release by the Gujarat government stated.

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Meanwhile, the 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.

The IMD said the intensity of rainfall in parts of the state would increase as the cyclone approaches, with isolated places in the districts of Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar likely to witness extremely heavy rains.

GUJARAT PREPARES FOR CYCLONE BIPARJOY’s LANDFALL

As per the government, 15 teams of NDRF (National Disaster Response Force), 12 of SDRF (State Disaster Response Force), 115 teams of the state road and building department and 397 of the state electricity department have been deployed in different coastal districts.

A total of 33 teams have been earmarked by the NDRF to undertake relief and rescue operations in Gujarat and Maharashtra ahead of the expected landfall of the cyclone.

Bhuj Air Force station is laced with preparations made by ‘Garuda’ Emergency Response Team of the Indian Air Force.

Jawans of the Army have been fully prepared to help in rescue and relief operations during and after the cyclone.

The Indian Navy, in its preparedness, has put four ships with HADR bricks embarked on standby. The Navy has also deployed five relief teams in Porbandar and Okha, while 15 relief teams have been deployed at Valsura, for rendering assistance to civil authorities.

Helos at INS Hansa in Goa, and INS Shikra in Mumbai, are ready to provide assistance to locals of Gujarat.

A Dornier aircraft has also been put on standby for aerial rescue and transportation of relief material and personnel.

The Indian Navy has asked additional HADR stores to be on standby for embarkation at short notice.

The Western Railway said 76 trains have been cancelled, 36 short-terminated and 31 short-originated as a precautionary measure to ensure safety of passengers and train operations.

In addition, various safety and security precautions are being taken by the WR for train passengers in areas under its jurisdiction, according to a release. Affected passengers will get a refund of fares as per rules, it added.

Officials and ministers have reviewed the availability of oxygen, ventilators and critical care beds in Kutch district government hospitals, trust-run hospitals and other hospitals in the region.

-The India Today