Cyclone 'Fani' leaves 12 dead in Odisha, relief work underway
Bhubaneswar: A day after cyclonic storm 'Fani' ravaged parts of Odisha, killing at least 12 people, a massive restoration and relief work was launched on war-footing Saturday across 10,000 villages and urban areas, officials said.
The extremely severe cyclonic storm, which made landfall at Puri on Friday, unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamped towns and villages, before weakening and entering West Bengal, they said.
The death toll due to the calamity, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 12 with four fresh casualties reported from Mayurbhanj district, the officials said, adding, detailed information from many areas was still awaited.
All the four people were killed after uprooted trees fell on them at different places in Baripada, the emergency officer of Mayurbhanj district, S K Pati, said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and discussed the prevailing situation in the aftermath of the cyclone's landfall in the coastal state.
The prime minister assured continuous support from the central government.
"Spoke to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Ji and discussed the situation prevailing due to Cyclone Fani. Assured continuous support from the Central Government ... The entire nation stands in solidarity with all those affected by the cyclone in different parts," Modi said in a tweet.
Though the "extremely severe" cyclone weakened into a "very severe" cyclonic storm in a few hours, it flattened houses with thatched roofs and kutcha houses, uprooted scores of trees, electric poles and mobile towers in coastal Odisha, with the seaside pilgrim town of Puri being the worst hit.
Patnaik, after reviewing the situation on Friday night, had said that Puri district suffered huge damage.
"Energy infrastructure has been completely destroyed. Restoration of electricity is a challenging task," he had said.
Hundreds of engineers and technicians are working to restore power supply, the officials said.
Work is on to restore road communication, thrown into disarray with thousands of uprooted trees blocking the way in innumerable places, Patnaik said.
Men and machinery of the NDRF, the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and fire services swung into action and launched a massive restoration work to bring back normalcy, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), B P Sethi, said.
Odisha Energy Secretary Hemanth Sharma said around 30 lakh power consumers have been affected by the cyclone, which threw electricity distribution infrastructure out of gear in most coastal districts
Restoration work is on in full swing, he said.
In Bhubaneswar city itself, over 10,000 electric poles have been uprooted or broken, he said, adding, efforts are on to restore power supply in 25 per cent crucial sectors such as the airport, the railway station and hospitals.
Another 25 per cent work will be completed on Sunday and efforts are on to restore complete normalcy at the earliest, Sharma said. The power network had been severely damaged in districts such as Puri, Khurda, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Balasore.
The Quick Action Team (QRT) of the premier naval training establishment, INS Chilka, was immediately deployed to provide emergency assistance in cutting and clearing trees in some areas, said an official.
A naval Dornier aircraft carried out aerial survey and found extensive damaged to vegetation in many places around Puri. Large-scale water inundation was observed in many places, particularly in low-lying areas between Puri and Chilka lake, he said.
The chief minister said nearly 12 lakh people were evacuated and shifted to safer locations from about 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations, 24 hours ahead of the cyclone, "probably the largest such exercise at the time of a natural calamity in the country".
The evacuees have been accommodated in over 4,000 shelters, including 880 specially-designed cyclone centres, he said. Cooked food is being served to them for free.
The cyclone, after the landfall, passed through Khurda, Cuttack, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore before entering West Bengal, the SRC said, adding, Bhubaneswar city was hit by high velocity winds of around 140 kmph.
Telecommunication lines got snapped in several parts of the state capital and other areas. Summer crops, orchards and plantations also suffered huge damage, he said.
Around 220 trains on the Howrah-Chennai route have been cancelled in view of passengers' safety, an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said.
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Punjab: Blast near army cantt area in Amritsar, hours after explosion in Jalandhar
Chandigarh (PTI): An explosion occurred near the army cantonment area in Khasa late Tuesday night in Punjab's Amritsar, the second such incident which took place around three hours after a blast outside the headquarters of the Border Security Force's Punjab Frontier in Jalandhar.
According to the police, an investigation into both blast incidents is currently underway, and no injuries have been reported.
The first explosion happened around 8 pm in Jalandhar, while the second blast occurred at approximately 11 pm in Amritsar.
Amritsar (Rural) Senior Superintendent of Police Suhail Mir Qasim stated that police received reports of a loud sound at around 11 pm on a road in Khasa. "Our teams arrived on the scene immediately," he said.
Preliminary inspections indicated that someone had thrown an explosive device towards the boundary wall, leading to the explosion, according to the SSP.
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Police mentioned that a piece of a tin sheet covering the boundary wall had fallen as a result of the blast.
Following the explosion, a team of forensic and bomb disposal squad visited the site to collect samples.
Amritsar Rural Superintendent of Police Aditya S. Warrier, who also visited the scene, confirmed that further investigations are ongoing. Police added that a team of army officials also assessed the situation, after which the area was cordoned off.
CCTV footage from the vicinity shows the explosion occurring at night. A local villager reported that his family was awakened by the loud sound and came outside their home to see what had happened.
Before the Amritsar explosion, a blast took place outside the headquarters of the Border Security Force's Punjab Frontier in Jalandhar district around 8 pm on Tuesday, causing panic in the area.
CCTV footage captured the explosion, which resulted in a cloud of smoke. An unidentified man was seen running for cover following the blast.
The blast ripped apart a scooter, damaged a traffic signal pole and windowpanes of a nearby shop. Locals recounted that the scooter, which was parked outside the BSF headquarters, Punjab Frontier, caught fire shortly after a loud sound. It belonged to Gurpreet Singh, who regularly delivers parcels in the area.
Talking to reporters on Tuesday night, one of Gurpreet's relatives said that the scooter caught fire as he was approaching it. He immediately called his father and informed him about the incident.
Jalandhar Police Commissioner Dhanpreet Kaur confirmed to reporters late Tuesday that an Activa scooter parked near the gate caught fire suddenly. She stated that Gurpreet is fully cooperating with the investigation.
Witnesses nearby reported hearing a loud sound following the explosion.
On April 27, an explosion occurred at a freight corridor rail track in Shambhu in Patiala. Police had arrested four members of a pro-Khalistan terror module, backed by Pakistan's ISI, for the blast.
In light of these incidents, opposition parties have condemned the AAP government for its handling of the situation.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also holds the home portfolio, over the recent blasts.
"Three blasts in 10 days, two in a single day, May 5: Jalandhar outside BSF headquarters and Sri Amritsar Sahib Army area, April 27: Rajpura rail track. Continued intelligence failures and the collapse of law and order are a matter of grave concern. Chief Minister @BhagwantMann, who is also the state Home Minister, is busy with mimicry and cheap politics. He has forfeited the right to remain in office," Badal said in a post on X.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring also slammed the Mann government over the two blasts.
"Back-to-back blasts have shaken Punjab. Yesterday in Jalandhar, and now near Khasa Camp in Amritsar, this is deeply alarming. Who is trying to destabilise our state? Why has the Punjab Government failed to prevent such incidents? What is the Government of India doing? Repeated lapses point to a serious breakdown of intelligence and security. Punjab's peace cannot be compromised. We demand accountability and immediate action," Warring said in a post on X.
