Jakhau port turns ghost town as evacuation starts

By 4 pm, 2831 people had been shifted to relief centres in Abdasa taluka alone while the figure for entire district stood at 8686. Naliya town, around 30 away from coastline is headquarter of Abdasa taluka and the Met department has predicted that the cyclone will make landfall near this town.

Jakhau port, around 30 km west of Naliya and which is near the richest fishing waters in the state, got special attention of the authorities as if it is feared the cyclone may hit this part the hardest. By evening, almost all of 2300 fishermen of the port were shifted to relief centres in Jakhau village and BSF quarters and Odhavram community hall in Naliya.

648 fishing boats are registered at Jakhau port and officials said all of them had returned by Thursday morning.

By 2 pm, the usually bustling hamlet had turned into a ghost town. Huts were locked while a few men hung around their boats.

“I have been fishing here for the last 35 years and never ever in my life have I seen such an action on the part of the government. This is good for the safety of our lives. But I am also concerned about safety of my boat worth Rs7 lakh. I would insist on being around to stabilize my vessel when the cyclone hits,” said Naran Tandel (56), a fisherman originally from Kosamba village in Valsad distirct in southern Gujarat.

Tandel said police had peruaded his wife Jyoti to accompany other women in the locality to go to Naliya.

Others shifted to their residences in nearby villages while the rest were persuaded to pay visit to their relatives. “I know this means loss of daily wages for me and my husband. But there is no choice. So I am returning to our home in Jakhau village,” said Havabai Koli, a fisherwoman, while locking her hutment in port and preparing to board a bus.

She said her two sons and a daughter-in-law had already reached Jakhau village.

Ramesh Koli, owner of a fishing trawler named Chandani, said his boat was life of his entire family. “If it is damaged in the storm, I don’t have means to buy another. But there is no choice. So me and my family are paying a visit to a cousin brother in Jakhau village,” said the 28-year-old boat owner.

But DR Patel, SP of Kutch West said entire village needed to be evacuated as a precautionary measure. “Sar abaad to paghdi hazar (If your head remains intact, you can done 1000 turbans). I don’t want a single soul in the port. A team of volunteers will take care of boats,” police inspector Bharat Desai told a constable who was asking if they could allow one man per boat to stay back.

In BSF camp, around 800 evacuees were given food packets in the afternoon while khichadi and rice were being cooked for evening meal. Man and women were alloted different blocks.

The district administration had planned to evacuate more than 31000 people initially. But as the cyclone weakened, collector Mahendra Patel said this number will not cross 10000. “By the time it hits Kutch coast, the cyclone will weakened into a depression. So we have put off our plans to shift people living 10 km away from shore. However, there is a forecast of heavy rain. So fishermen and salt-pan workers, who live in low lying areas will not be allowed to return. But we shall take call about allowing large number of workers of Kandla port, who have been evacuated, to return on Friday morning, depending on forecast of IMD, ” said the collector.

Besides Kandla and Mundra, the largest ports of the country, Kutch coastline is dotted by minor ports like Jakhau, Mandavi, Mundra and Tuna. Barring Bhuj and Rapar, the rest seven talukas of the district have coastline. Gandhidham, Anjar and Mundra are home to a number of big industrial units.

Minister Shankar Chaudhary held a meeting with officers in Naliya later in the evening and reviewed the situation. Officers said people were likely to stay in relief centres for three days and that fishing and port operations would remain suspended.

More than 6000 were identified for evacuation but local officers said they will take a call on further evacuation on Friday morning after assessing the situation.