Six districts of Bengal, including North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, East Medinipur, and West Medinipur, have been put on high alert for Cyclone Dana, which is likely to make landfall between Puri and Ganga Sagar on October 24.
Heavy rainfall has been predicted in the six districts. The Cabinet Secretary has met with the Chief Secretaries of Bengal and Odisha, as these two states will be most affected. The Bengal and Odisha governments had rounds of meetings with their teams on this.
How’s Bengal’s preparation
So far, NDRF has deployed nine teams: three for East Medinipur, one for West Medinipur, three for South 24 Parganas, and two for North N 24 Parganas. Fishermen have been asked not to venture out to sea. Constant monitoring has been directed in all these districts. Instructions have been given so that people are taken to relief camps before the cyclone hits. Kolkata Police also reviewed all arrangements.
Home Minister Amit Shah was expected to visit Hooghly Arambagh on his one-day visit, but his programme has been stalled due to the cyclone. Shah’s other programmes in Bengal is likely to remain unchanged.
Odisha Updates
As per IMD prediction, low pressure over the Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm over the next two days and lead to heavy rainfall as it is expected to make landfall over the coastal states on October 24. Wind speeds off the Odisha-West Bengal coast are expected to reach 60 km/h from October 23, increasing to 120 km/h from October 24 night to October 25 morning. The weather agency has advised fishermen of West Bengal and Odisha to remain off the sea on October 23.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi spoke with Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding an update on Cyclone Dana and the state government’s preparedness for pre- and post-cyclone scenarios. The central government has assured necessary cooperation to tackle the situation and agreed to provide additional NDRF teams with a helicopter. The helicopter will be stationed at Bhubaneswar airport for deployment where required.
Odisha CM Reviews Preparedness
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi reviewed cyclone preparedness measures and emphasised the priority of achieving zero casualties. The CM directed the relevant district collectors to ensure the safe return of fishermen currently at sea. All district collectors have been instructed to intensify cyclone preparedness efforts. In anticipation of the cyclone, the state government has cancelled leave for all government employees and mandated that they remain within their respective district headquarters during this period.
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