AHMEDABAD: As cyclone 'Biparjoy' is likely to make landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat's Kutch district late Thursday night, more than 94,000 people living in eight coastal districts have been evacuated to temporary shelters, said Gujarat government officials.
Speaking to media persons, the Gujarat Commissioner of Relief Alok Kumar said that “the administration has successfully rehabilitated more than 94,000 people living in cyclone-prone areas of 8 districts.”
"Of the 94,427 persons evacuated so far, nearly 46,800 were evacuated in Kutch district, followed by 10,749 in Devbhumi Dwarka, 9,942 in Jamnagar, 9,243 in Morbi, 6,822 in Rajkot, 4,864 in Junagadh, 4,379 in Porbandar and 1,605 in Gir Somnath district," a Gujarat government release said. Those who were shifted to safer places include nearly 8,900 children, 1,131 pregnant women and 4,697 elderly persons.
The Gujarat govt has taken concrete steps such as the construction of 76 state-of-the-art multipurpose cyclone shelters (MPCS) across the state and evacuating people to safer locations. This includes 25 in Junagadh, 29 at Gir-Somnath, 4 each in Porbandar, Devbhoomi Dwarka, and Kutch, 2 in Amreli, 1 each in Jamnagar and Navsari, 5 in Bharuch, and 1 in Ahmedabad. These shelters are proving to be a boon to the masses as the state gears up to face the possible effects of the Biparjoy cyclone.
The state government has also established 1521 shelter homes on a war footing in 8 districts of the Kutch-Saurashtra region. This includes 196 in Junagadh, 173 in Kutch, 56 in Jamnagar, 140 in Porbandar, 182 in Devbhoomi Dwarka, 507 in Gir-Somnath, 31 in Morbi, and 236 in Rajkot. Medical teams visit these shelter homes regularly to examine the health status of rehabilitated people.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keeping a close watch on the preparedness and action plan of the state government. The Union Government has assured complete support to Gujarat and sent a team of senior
ministers to review rescue and relief measures.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel presided over a high-level meeting at the State Emergency Operation Center today to review the administration’s efforts in response to the potential cyclone ‘Biparjoy’ in Gujarat.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister received a comprehensive briefing from officials regarding the administration’s preparedness measures and offered necessary suggestions.