Kutch is still reeling under the fury of Biparjoy, 12 hours after the severe cyclonic storm made landfall at Jakhau port. On Friday morning, gusty winds and rain continued to sweep across this border district in Gujarat and communication lines remained down in some parts even as the authorities began assessing the damage caused by the cyclone. “The winds are gusting through the district amidst rain as the cyclone continues to progress. Naliya and Jakhau in Abdasa and Dayapar in Lakhpat are the worst affected areas as per primary reports. But we will start assessing the damage now. There are some communication issues in Dayapar as a few telecom towers are damaged and others have encountered power failures. Elsewhere, the communication lines are still active,” Kutch District Collector Amit Arora told The Indian Express at 7.35 am Friday, adding that the inclement weather is likely to persist for a few more hours. “Trees have fallen and we have switched off power in many areas as a precautionary measure,” the collector further said. Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall at Jakhau port in Kutch district’s Abdasa taluka between 6 pm and 11 pm on Thursday with a sustained wind speed of 115-125 km per hour and heavy rainfall. In Jakhau village, 10 km inland from Jakhau port, some houses have been damaged. “Tiled and fibre composite roofs of many houses have been blown away but no one is injured,” Abdul Sumra, sarpanch of Jakhau village, told The Indian Express. However, telecom services are still available as the government had ordered telecom service providers to allow access to even those who are not their subscribers. “It appears communication will not be a major problem. Teams have set out to assess the condition of roads and open them to vehicular traffic by removing uprooted trees and electricity poles,” Devang Rathod, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Abdasa, told The Indian Express over the phone from his office in Naliya, a village 22 km inland from Jakhau port. “The IMD has predicted that gusting winds and rains will persist in Kutch at least till afternoon before cyclone crosses over to Rajasthan,” Rathod said, adding, “After the initial gusts and rain early on Thursday evening, there was a calm in Naliya for almost six hours between 9 pm Thursday and 3 am Friday as the eye of the storm passed over the region. However, stormy winds returned with even higher wind speeds at around 3.30 am and they continue to blow even now,” the SDM said at 7.24 am.
