Around 10,000 villages, 52 towns to be hit by cyclone 'Fani'
New Delhi, May 2: An estimated 10,000 villages and 52 towns in Odisha will be hit by the 'extremely severe' cyclonic storm 'Fani', which is approaching India's eastern coast and is expected to make landfall south of Puri on Friday, the home ministry said.
A total of 11.5 lakh people in Odisha will have to be moved to safer areas. Of them about 3.3 lakh people have already been shifted.
Flight operations from Bhubaneswar will remain suspended from Thursday midnight and from Kolkata from Friday morning, and will be resumed as soon the conditions improve.
The Odisha government has conveyed to the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), the country's top body for handling emergency situations, on Thursday that 10,000 villages and 52 towns in nine districts will be affected, a home ministry statement said after a meeting of the NCMC, which was headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha.
Action on evacuation is already being taken by the Odisha government and around 900 cyclone shelters have been made ready to house the evacuees.
The storm is likely to impact Odisha's coastal districts Ganjam, Gajapati, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Jajpur and Balasore. In West Bengal, it will affect districts of East and West Medinipur, South and North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hoogly, Jhargram besides the Kolkata city.
In Andhra Pradesh, the cyclone is likely to hit Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned of storm surge of about 1.5 metre height which may inundate low-lying coastal areas of Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts of Odisha at the time of landfall.
"Arrangements have been made to warn people of the impending cyclone through announcements over public address systems, mass SMS and local media. Teams of NDRF and ODRAF have been put in place," the statement said.
During the NCMC meeting, the cabinet secretary reviewed the preparedness of the states and the central ministries and agencies concerned to deal with the situation arising out of the cyclonic storm.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has informed the NCMC that flight operations from Bhubaneswar will be suspended from May 2 midnight and operations from Kolkata will remain suspended from the morning of May 3, and resumed as soon the conditions improve. The railways have already suspended operations of trains in Odisha, the MHA statement said.
Reviewing the preparedness of the state and central agencies, the cabinet secretary directed officials that people from vulnerable areas be moved to safer places, cyclone shelters and provision for essential food, drinking water and medicines be made.
Sinha also directed establishment of a central toll-free helpline for the public. He also asked the central ministries to set up control rooms to coordinate rescue and relief operations and advised all concerned to make adequate preparations to ensure maintenance of essential services in the event of damages caused to them.
The Power Ministry has made arrangements to restore power supply in affected areas with least downtime. The Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministry has made arrangements to move additional water supplies in the affected areas and is keeping in readiness packaged drinking water.
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries is keeping in readiness packaged ready-to-eat food.
The Health Ministry has mobilised emergency medical teams, medicines and also coordinated with the Red Cross to provide assistance. It has kept ready 17 public health response teams and five quick response medical teams with emergency drugs.
The Department of Telecommunication has issued orders to all operators to allow free SMS for cyclone-related messages and inter-operability of mobile networks by other operators. The Petroleum Ministry has ensured availability of sufficient petroleum and oil in the affected areas.
The Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy have deployed ships and helicopters for relief and rescue operations while the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force units in the three states have also been put on standby.
The Ministry of Shipping has disengaged all ships at Paradip Port and has deployed emergency vessels (Tugs).
The IMD has been issuing hourly bulletins with latest forecast to all the states concerned. The home ministry is also in continuous touch with the state governments and the central agencies concerned.
Top officials of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal participated in the NCMC meeting through video conference. Senior officers from the ministries of home, shipping, civil aviation, railways, petroleum, power, telecommunications, defence, drinking water and sanitation, food pocessing, health, IMD, NDMA and NDRF also attended the meeting.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Rupee rises 23 paise to 94.95 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee appreciated by 23 paise to 94.95 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday as Brent crude prices retreated from their elevated level after US President Donald Trump hinted at a possible deal with Iran.
Forex traders said oil prices fell to USD 108 per barrel, as signs of easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East offset the lingering supply concerns.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95, then gained some ground and touched an early high of 94.95, registering a gain of 23 paise from its previous low.
The rupee was later trading at 95.10 against the greenback.
On Tuesday, the rupee settled at 95.18 against the US dollar, after witnessing an all-time intraday low of 95.44 on Tuesday on possible RBI intervention after investors retreated from riskier assets amid renewed clashes in the Gulf and targeting of UAE infrastructure, which reignited supply chain fears.
The rupee, which fell to its all-time low of 95.44 on Tuesday, gained this morning as Gift Nifty indicated a positive opening of 200 points, said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
The dollar Index fell to 98.30, and Asian currencies rose against the dollar this morning in Asian trade, after Trump hinted at a possible deal with Iran, Bhansali added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 98.28, down 0.16 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 1.32 per cent at USD 108.42 per barrel in futures trade, after Trump paused Operation Freedom.
President Donald Trump has suspended “Project Freedom,” to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming progress in negotiations with Iran toward an agreement to end the war.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, “Great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran.”
Project Freedom was launched on Monday to escort ships, stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, out to safety. Trump had announced the operation on Sunday, and the US Central Command began implementing it the next day.
However, the Project led to friction in the vicinity of the narrow seaway, a key route for transporting one-fifth of the global oil supplies, with the UAE claiming that its ships were attacked by Iran. The US also claimed to have destroyed several Iranian small boats.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 657.22 points to 77,675.01 in early trade, while the Nifty rallied 218 points to 24,250.85.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 3,621.58 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
