Cyclone 'Amphan' to make landfall along with very high wind speed, heavy rains
New Delhi: Super cyclone 'Amphan' is likely to make landfall along the West Bengal coast on Wednesday with very high wind speeds ranging up to 155-165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph and heavy rains.
This was conveyed to the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), headed by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, which met here on Tuesday to review the preparedness of the states and central ministries and agencies to deal with the cyclonic storm, an official statement said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has stated that the super cyclone is expected to impact the West Bengal coast by the afternoon or evening of May 20.
Very high wind speeds ranging up to 155-165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph are expected, accompanied by heavy rainfall and storm surges of 4-5 metres in the coastal districts of the state.
Districts of East Medinipur, South and North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and Kolkata are expected to be impacted, the statement said.
The damage potential of the cyclone is expected to be higher than that of cyclone 'Bulbul', which hit the West Bengal coast on November 9, 2019, it said.
Cyclone 'Amphan' will also bring heavy rainfall, squally winds and storm surges in the coastal districts of Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Bhadrak, Jajpur and Balasore in Odisha.
Chief Secretary, Odisha and Additional Chief Secretary, West Bengal apprised the NCMC of preparatory measures taken by them. They informed that evacuation of people from the low lying areas is being carried out.
All actions have been taken to stock food grains, drinking water and other essential supplies. Teams for maintenance and restoration of Power and Telecom services have also been positioned.
Reviewing the preparedness of the States and central agencies, the cabinet secretary asked the state governments to ensure timely and complete evacuation of people from low lying areas in the cyclone's path and maintain adequate quantities of essential supplies such as food, drinking water and medicines, etc.
They were also advised that teams for road clearance and other restoration work be kept ready. A total of 36 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are currently deployed in both the states.
Rescue and relief teams of the Army and Navy along with ships and aircrafts of the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard have been put on standby.
Officials from agencies of the Department of Telecommunications and Ministry of Power are also deployed in the states to ensure maintenance of essential services.
Chief Secretary, Odisha and Home Secretary, West Bengal participated in the meeting through video conference. Senior officers from the Ministries of Home Affairs, Defence, Shipping, Power, Telecommunications, Health, IMD, NDMA and NDRF also attended the meeting.
The NCMC will meet again to take stock of the emerging situation, the statement said.
Cyclone 'Amphan' has developed into a super cyclone over the Bay of Bengal on Monday and has the potential to cause extensive damage in the coastal districts of West Bengal when it makes landfall, the government had said.
This is the second super cyclone over the Bay of Bengal in two decades.
The cyclone is expected to make landfall on the West Bengal coast in the afternoon of May 20 between Digha in West Bengal and Hatia island in Bangladesh as an extremely severe cyclonic storm.
The cyclone has the potential to cause extensive damage in the coastal districts of West Bengal, the government said.
'Amphan' will cause heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of West Bengal, it added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday had reviewed the situation arising from the cyclone and assured all possible assistance from the central government.
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I hope my little joke is not seen as expertise: Kasparov after post on Gandhi goes viral
New Delhi (PTI): Russian chess great Garry Kasparov hoped that his "little joke" on Indian politics does not pass for "advocacy or expertise" after his cheeky social media post on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's love for the game went viral.
Within hours of asking Gandhi to "first win Rae Bareli before challenging for the top", the 61-year-old said it was just a joke and should be seen as one.
"I very much hope my little joke does not pass for advocacy or expertise in Indian politics! But as an 'all-seeing monster with 1000 eyes,' as I was once described, I cannot fail to see a politician dabbling in my beloved game!" the former world champion, who retired in 2005, wrote in response to a post by actor Ranvir Shorey.
Shorey's comment appeared to be a dig at Gandhi's recent assertion that he was the best chess player among all Indian politicians. Kasparov gave the same reply to a few other accounts which commented on his original post.
The Congress recently shared a video of Gandhi playing chess on his mobile phone while on the Lok Sabha election campaign trail. The MP from Wayanad named Kasparov as his favourite chess player and drew parallels between the game and politics.
A user on X made a cheeky comment on his page, which read "feel so relieved that @Kasparov63 and @vishy64theking retired early and didn't have to face the greatest chess genius of our times."
Kasparov, rather unusually, originally responded to that post.
"Traditional (sic) dictates that you should first win from Raebareli before challenging for the top," wrote the fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin who is based in Croatia after fleeing his country.
Gandhi, while naming Kasparov as his favourite chess player, described him as a "non-linear thinker" in the Congress video.
"...once you get slightly better at it, the opponent's pieces actually operate almost like your own," he said, drawing comparison between chess and politics.
He filed his nomination from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh on Friday and is also contesting from Wayanad.
A former world number one for a record 255 weeks, Kasparov became the youngest-ever undisputed world champion at the age of 22 in 1985 and is a political activist now.
The iconic player is a contemporary of Indian great Viswanathan Anand.
Recently, when 17-year-old D Gukesh bettered his record of becoming the youngest challenger to the world title by winning the Candidates Tournament in Toronto, Kasparov had put out a congratulatory post on X.
He described Gukesh as "the Indian earthquake in Toronto".
