Cyclone Biparjoy: Shala Praveshotsav deferred in coastal districts, Gujarat starts evacuation as it prepares for landfall

The government has also deputed ministers to these districts to monitor the situation.

The Shala Praveshotsav, during which government ministers and officers formally welcome newly-enrolled children to schools, was to start Monday and continue until Wednesday. However, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel ordered the postponement of the event in six districts and curtailing it to two days in other districts. “In other districts of the state, Shala Praveshotsav will be a two-day affair—on June 12 and 13—instead of three days,” an official release stated.

With the cyclone fast-approaching, the state government closed popular sea beaches such as Chowpaty in Porbandar, Shivrajpur near Dwarka in Devbhumi Dwarka and Mandvi in Kutch district.

In addition, government officers and staff started reaching out to people living in the vulnerable areas along the seacoast informing them about the approaching storm and informing them that they might have to be shifted to safer areas if the cyclone continued to approach the Saurashtra coast. Teams of government staff were seen making such announcements in Rupen harbour near Dwarka town as well as in other fishing harbours along the long coastline of the state.

In Morbi district, Collector GT Pandya said a few hundred people have voluntarily evacuated their houses along the seacoast and moved to safer places even as the administration has converted 18 buildings into cyclone shelters having a capacity to accommodate 3,500 people.

In Kutch, the administration is closely monitoring developments. “As our district falls in the path of the cyclone, we need to evacuate people living in huts and kuchcha houses up to five kilometres inland. While the survey of such people is still going on, we estimate around 5,000 people may have to be evacuated in case the cyclone indeed hits Kutch coast,” Mitesh Pandya, resident additional collector of Kutch said.

CM Patel also appealed to people to pray for the well being of Gujarat in view of Biparjoy. “The cyclone is moving towards us. Everybody (please) pray that should it hit (Gujarat), then it passes off causing minimum damage; and if it does not hit (Gujarat), then nothing like that. But as of now, possibilities are there that it may hit (Gujarat),” Patel said addressing a public gathering at Bodeli in Chhota Udepur.

The CM also deputed his cabinet ministers and senior officers of the state government to the six districts lying along the path of the cyclone to monitor the situation and lead government response in case of likely impact of the storm. While Revenue Minister Rushikesh Patel has been deputed to Kutch, Water Resources Minister Kunvarji Bavaliya has been deputed to Porbandar. Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi has been sent to Devbhumi Dwarka, while Forest and Environment Minister Mulu Bera has been deputed to Jamnagar district. Minister of State for Cooperation (Independent charge) -Jagdish Vishwakarma has been assigned Junagadh.

In Rajkot, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who was on a visit to the district, held a meeting with the district administration to review preparedness for tackling any situation arising out of the cyclone.

On Sunday, Biparjoy intensified into an extremely severe cyclonic storm and continued to approach the Saurashtra coast. According to a bulletin released by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) at 5.10 pm PM Sunday, the cyclone laid 450 km south-west of Porbandar, 490 km southwest of Devbhumi Dwarka and 570 km southwest of Naliya of Kutch. Biparjoy is likely to move northward till June 14 and make landfall between the Mandvi coast in Kutch and Karachi in Pakistan around noon on June 15 as an extremely severe cyclonic storm with maximum sustained wind speed of 125- 135 kilometres per hour (kmph) gusting to 150 kmph, IMD said.

The IMD has issued a heavy rainfall warning for Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Junagarh and Morbi districts due to the approaching cyclone.

While light to moderate rainfall are predicted for most places, heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places of Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Junagarh and Morbi districts of Saurashtra and Kutch on June 14. By June 15, the intensity of the rainfall would increase with heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places and extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places of Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar and heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places over Porbandar, Rajkot, Morbi and Junagarh districts.

Isolated heavy rainfall is very likely over the remaining districts of Saurashtra and north Gujarat region on June 15, the IMD alert stated.

Wind warning along and off Saurashtra and Kutch coasts (Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Junagarh and Morbi districts) including Gulf of Kutch, too, has been issued.

The sea conditions are likely to be rough to very rough until June 14 evening and high to phenomenal thereafter until June 15 noon, after which it is expected to improve. Hence, the IMD has advised for a total suspension of fishing operations along Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Junagarh and Morbi districts and for offshore and onshore till June 15.

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