Cyclone Biparjoy: 37,800 people evacuated from coastal areas in Gujarat
Naliya (PTI): As Cyclone Biparjoy barrels towards the Kutch coast in Gujarat, the government said they have so far evacuated nearly 37,800 people living near the sea in eight districts of the state.
The powerful cyclone will make landfall near Jakhau port on the evening of June 15, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD).
"VSCS (very severe cyclonic storm) BIPARJOY over Arabian sea moved north northwestward and lay centered at 2.30 IST of 14th June, about 280 km WSW of Jakhau port. To cross near Jakhau Port (Gujarat) by evening of 15th June as VSCS," IMD said in the latest post.
The Gujarat government said in a release that they have so far evacuated 37,794 people living along the coastline.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel visited the state government's emergency operations centre on Tuesday night for a review of the preparedness, it said.
The cyclone has "extensive damaging potential" and is likely to impact Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar districts the most, IMD has said.
The state government is aiming to evacuate people residing within 10 km from the shore, said an official. So far, one fatality related to the cyclone has been recorded, he said.
Evacuation operations will continue on Wednesday, officials said.
The cyclone is likely to hit the shore near Jakhau port between Mandvi in Kutch and Karachi in Pakistan with sustained wind speeds of 125-135 kmph, gusting to 150 kmph on Thursday evening (June 15).
The met department has predicted extremely heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds in coastal parts of the Saurashtra-Kutch region, especially in the districts of Kutch, Porbandar and Devbhumi Dwarka.
After it makes landfall and weakens, Biparjoy is likely to remain north-eastward and is expected to move towards extreme south Rajasthan. It is expected to bring heavy to very heavy rain in north Gujarat between June 15-17.
Fishing activities have been suspended till June 16, ports are shut and ships are anchored as the sea turned turbulent and weather became inclement with extremely heavy rainfall and strong winds in the region due to the approaching cyclone.
The government said 17 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 12 of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are on standby in the districts of Devbhumi Dwarka, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Porbandar, Gir Somnath, Morbi and Valsad.
Otherwise a bustling shipping hub, the Jakhau port on Tuesday looked like a haunted jetty following the evacuation of its entire human population.
In a virtual meeting on Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked the Gujarat government to make arrangements for moving people living in sensitive places to safer locations and ensure all necessary services like electricity, telecommunication, health and drinking water, said an official statement.
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AAP claims Kejriwal's car attacked during campaigning; BJP alleges vehicle hit 3 people
New Delhi: The AAP on Saturday alleged that Arvind Kejriwal's car was attacked by BJP candidate Parvesh Verma's supporters during campaigning in the New Delhi constituency, prompting Verma to hit back as he accused the AAP chief of hitting three people with his vehicle.
Verma claimed that the three victims have sustained leg injuries and said he would file an "attempt to murder" case against Kejriwal.
The incident has sparked a political war of words between the ruling AAP in Delhi and the BJP ahead of the February 5 assembly polls.
Sharing a video on social media, the AAP claimed that a stone can be seen landing on Kejriwal's vehicle, accusing BJP's Verma of getting its chief attacked by his "goons".
हार के डर से बौखलाई BJP, अपने गुंडों से करवाया अरविंद केजरीवाल जी पर हमला‼️
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) January 18, 2025
BJP प्रत्याशी प्रवेश वर्मा के गुंडों ने चुनाव प्रचार करते वक्त अरविंद केजरीवाल जी पर ईंट-पत्थर से हमला कर उन्हें चोट पहुंचाने की कोशिश की ताकि वो प्रचार ना कर सकें।
बीजेपी वालों, तुम्हारे इस कायराना… pic.twitter.com/QcanvqX8fB
A police official, however, said that no one pelted stones at the Kejriwal's car but some people were trying to show black flags to the AAP chief, who was immediately removed from the location.
The official said that no complaint has been received so far, adding that they are checking CCTV footage to know more about the incident.
Kejriwal is pitted against Verma from the New Delhi constituency in the Delhi Assembly polls.
Later, addressing a press conference, AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said that Verma was "baffled", claiming that "though he (Verma) distributed money and gold chain in New Delhi, people in the constituency are supporting Kejriwal".
The Election Commission and Delhi Police should take suo moto cognizance of the incident and conduct an "impartial probe" to ensure strong action against Verma, Kakkar said.
"The attack on Kejriwal is extremely condemnable. The BJP does not want to allow peaceful elections in the New Delhi constituency," she charged.
The AAP spokesperson demanded Delhi Police to detain Verma and his "goons" for questioning them over the incident.
Hitting back at Kejriwal, Verma said the AAP chief's car hit three youths who were asking him for jobs, and that he would file a police complaint of "attempt to murder".
Talking to reporters, Verma showed a damaged phone of one of the youths, claiming he was hit by Kejriwal's vehicle.
He said the injured have been identified as Vishal, Abhishek and Rohit.
The BJP leader said Kejriwal had gone for door-to-door campaigning near Lal Bahadur Shatri Sadan at Gole Market around 4 pm.
When some local youths asked him questions, including Vishal, Abhishek and Rohit, and tried to meet Kejriwal for jobs, police personnel from Punjab beat them up, Verma alleged.
"The three youth were hit by Kejriwal's vehicle in which he was sitting. The trio claimed that they came in front of the vehicle and the driver applied brakes but then moved it when signalled by Kejriwal," Verma said.
He said several videos of the incident were shot by the locals that showed the three youths being "hit" by the vehicle.
"Will Kejriwal try to kill and run over the local youth with vehicle when they ask him about their jobs," Verma asked.
None of the three youths was seen pelting stones, he said on the AAP's charges of stone pelting.
"Kejriwal is saying that these three youths are goons. But they are local residents and voters of New Delhi. Will anyone asking Kejriwal questions about jobs be called goons by him?" Verma asked.
Reacting to the development, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit, who is also contesting from the New Delhi constituency, said that he is against all such kinds of violence.
He sought to know what kind of politics is happening in Delhi.
Meanwhile, senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia hit out at the BJP over the incident.
"If you (BJP) don't have the courage to fight against Arvind Kejriwal's work, then you got your goons to attack him. There cannot be any more cheap and low level politics than what BJP is doing. BJP should understand that the public will give you a befitting reply for this," Sisodia said in a post on X.
BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said that the "real video", which has been shared by Parvesh Verma on X, clearly proves that Kejriwal tried to mow down the youths of Delhi.
"Because he (Kejriwal) is staring at his defeat in the New Delhi assembly constituency, he tried to crush the youths of Delhi who were just seeking some answers," he said.
