Coastal areas of Porbandar, Dwarka, Kutch, Kandla and Jamnagar are on alert and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel chaired a high-level meeting to take stock of the preparedness for cyclone "Biparjoy" on Monday. The cyclone is expected to cross the state's coast on June 15.
According to a state government official, 21 teams of NDRF and 13 teams of SDRF have been deployed. The cyclone is expected to affect more than 400 villages in eight districts, and arrangements have been made to evacuate people to safer places. Fishermen have been asked to stay away from the sea and one of the key ports of the country--Kandla Port--has been emptied.
Over 1,500 hoardings and other structures that could fall because of severe wind intensity have been removed.
Engineers from the roads and buildings department and the state electricity board have been deployed in the areas to expedite the work of restoring electricity and repairing the roads after the situation becomes conducive for executing repair works.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall has been forecast in districts of Saurashtra and Kutch district. Wind intensity is also going to be high.
The Western Railway has cancelled all the trains between Mumbai and Kutch till June 16. Sayaji Nagari Express and Kutch Express will operate only between Ahmedabad and Mumbai till June 16. The authorities have said that the passengers will get a full refund of the booking amount.
Bhavnagar-Okha Express has also been cancelled till the situation normalizes.
The Congress in Gujarat has set up control rooms in the areas expected to be affected. It has also set up a central control room for which the numbers are (079) 26585099 and (079) 26578212.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reviewed the preparedness and instructed the officials to safely evacuate people staying in vulnerable areas.
