Cyclone may affect 7L in coastal Odisha, CM makes saving lives the priority
Bhubaneswar: Nearly seven lakh people living in 649 villages of coastal Odisha could be severely affected by Cyclone Amphan, the state government said on Saturday based on initial projection by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) which also hinted that the landfall may be in West Bengal.
“As always, saving lives is our priority. We should put our best efforts to save every precious human life,” chief minister Naveen Patnaik said while reviewing the state’s preparedness in a video-conference with senior officials and collectors of the districts likely to be affected by the cyclone.
Quoting the IMD, chief minister Naveen Patnaik said the districts of Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Cuttack, Khurda, Nayagarh, Gajapati could be affected by strong wind and heavy rainfall. Government authorities anticipate the impact may be very severe in the districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapda.
A statement from the chief minister’s office said preparations are on to accommodate 11 lakh people in 567 cyclone centres and 7000 other concrete buildings. Three teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 12 teams of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and 355 units of Odisha Fire Services personnel are being deployed to tackle the situation.
Chief secretary Asit Tripahy said standing crops in lakhs of hectares, particularly paddy ripe for harvesting, pulses, oil seeds, cashew, mango, coconut and vegetables are likely to be damaged in the heavy rainfall and wind that the cyclone is expected to bring.
An IMD Bhubaneswar bulletin issued at 5.30 pm said the depression over southeast Bay of Bengal and its neighbourhood is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm during the next 12 hours. It is expected to turn into a severe cyclonic storm during the subsequent 24 hours and rapidly turn into a very severe cyclonic storm by Monday morning.
It is very likely to move north north-westward initially till Sunday and then re-curve north north-eastward across northwest Bay of Bengal towards West Bengal and adjoining Odisha coasts between Monday and Wednesday. The IMD said wind speed on the Odisha coast could be between 45 km to 55 km per hour (gushing up to 65kmph) on Tuesday and may increase to 75 km to 85 km per hour (gushing up to 95 kmph) on Wednesday.
The chief secretary said 403 cyclone shelters have already been identified in the areas likely to be affected. Around 105 such shelters are presently being used as temporary medical camps and quarantine centres for Covid-19 care.
“Covid test of those staying in these centres are being done expeditiously so that persons testing negative can be sent to home quarantine. As a contingency, alternative buildings have been identified for use as cyclone shelters, in case the need arises,” said Tripthay who has conveyed the developments to cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba.
Meanwhile, following discussion with the Centre, the state has decided not to allow Shramik special trains to coastal Odisha between Tuesday and Thursday, an official said.
EoM