New Delhi/Kolkata: The Indian Army’s Eastern Command is spearheading Army’s response for rescue and relief operations in West Bengal in preparations for Cyclone ‘Yaas’, which is scheduled to make landfall on May 26, 2021. The deployment of Army columns is based on requisition and is in close coordination with the Government of West Bengal, the Ministry of Defence stated here today.
A total of seventeen integrated Cyclone Relief Columns, comprising specialised personnel with associated equipment and inflatable boats, have been deployed. Columns have been prepositioned at Purulia, Jhargram, Birbhum, Bardhaman, West Midnapur, Howrah, Hoogly, Nadia, 24 Parganas North and South.
Nine Cyclone Relief columns have also been kept on standby at Kolkata, for redeployment as necessary in West Bengal, at short notice.
These teams are equipped to undertake rescue and relief operations to include casualty evacuation of stranded/ marooned persons, medical treatment, road clearing/ tree cutting and distribution of relief material, as would be required by the local district administration.
Also read: Cyclone ‘Yaas’ likely to develop into ‘very severe’ cyclonic storm
Railway’s Oxygen Expresses too moved 680 MT of Oxygen relief from Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand in last 12 hours before Cyclone gets stronger. 8 Oxygen Expresses moved from the region. Criss crossing the country, Indian Railways is picking up oxygen from places like Hapa , Baroda, Mundra in the West and Rourkela, Durgapur, Tatanagar, Angul in the East and then delivering it to States of Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Telangana, Punjab, Kerala, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Assam in complex operational route planning scenarios.
Meanwhile, according to the National Weather Forecasting Centre of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) the Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘Yaas’ over East central and adjoining West central Bay of Bengal is very likely to move north-northwestwards, intensify further into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm during next 12 hours. It would continue to move north-northwestwards, intensify further and reach Northwest Bay of Bengal near north Odisha and West Bengal coasts very close to Chandbali-Dhamra port by the early morning of Wednesday, May 26. It is very likely to cross north Odisha-West Bengal coasts between Paradip and Sagar Island close to north of Dhamra and south of Balasore, during noon May 26as a ‘Very Severe Cyclonic Storm’.
On May 26, heavy to heavy rainfall is will take place in West Bengal’s Nadia, Bankura, Purulia and Birbhum districts. The state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has been holding meetings with state officials, asked the officials to ensure that enough force, from the state disaster management team and the police, position in the regions. She said she will herself stay at the control room.The phone numbers of the control room are 1070 and 033-22143526. Besides the main control room, the state government has also opened several small control rooms in coastal areas of the state, officials said.
The major ports in the region have taken the following measures to deal with the situations that may arise due to cyclone:
- 24X7 Control room is set up at Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways. Control Rooms of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), Navy, Indian Coast Guard (ICG), the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas(MoPNG) are in coordination
- Advisory issued to shipping companies and operators, so that they can take necessary protective measures for the vessels in the area.
- Instructions issued for lowering of High Mast Lights and securing of miscellaneous flyable objects / materials.
- Entire Port Operational area cleared of Port Users and workers
- Arrangements made for securing all shore cranes, various equipment / machineries, items at project sites, locomotives & rakes, lowering of high mast lights etc.
- Action plan initiated to suspend railway, road movements in the port area.
- Instructions issued for securing of private Crafts / launches
- Portable Gensets are on standby
- Port Ambulances ready for use in case of requirement
- Action taken for the safety of harbour crafts/ launches/ tourist ferries etc which remained inside harbour
- Action taken for safety of vessels available in outer harbor port areas
Inland Waterways Authority of India has also taken following measures:
- Directives issued to all Inland Waterways Transport (IWT) barge, cruise operators, shipping agents, exporters to stop the movement of all kinds of vessels in India-Bangladesh Protocol Routes and National Waterways from May 23 until warning is officially withdrawn.
- Further advised to place their vessels in the streams/ Khals/ creeks or any other place found suitable along the riverine routes to ensure the safety of crew and vessel till the end of the cyclonic storm.
- Directive issued to ensure that the IWT vessels should not be anchored in the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) Main Channel.
– global bihari bureau (with inputs from Sikta Mukherjee in Kolkata)
