Cyclone Remal: One person killed in Kolkata, says NDRF
New Delhi (PTI): One person died in Kolkata due to a wall collapse incident that took place during cyclonic storm 'Remal' that made landfall last night in the coastal area between West Bengal and neighbouring Bangladesh, a senior NDRF officer said Monday.
Fourteen teams of the federal contingency force are undertaking restoration and rescue work by clearing uprooted trees, electric poles and helping people come out of marooned areas hit by heavy rainfall, he said.
These teams have removed about 54 uprooted trees, two electric poles and cleared about 18 kms of roads in affected areas of Hasnabad, Sandeshkhali, Gosana, Sagar, Shyampur and Haringhata, he said.
According to the latest report received through the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), one person has been killed in a wall collapse incident in Kolkata.
The NDRF teams are on job to clear roads and aid West Bengal agencies in restoring normalcy in the aftermath of cyclone Remal that made a landfall in the midnight and is expected to convert into a deep depression by this evening, he said.
Visuals shared by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) this morning showed its rescuers using electric saws to cut uprooted trees even as some others were seen working on electricity and communication poles that were thrashed to the ground due to strong winds and rains.
Apart from the 14 teams in West Bengal, one NDRF unit is deployed in Tripura, which may see heavy rains due to Remal, the officer said.
The NDRF teams are deployed in various districts of West Bengal like Kolkata, North and South 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Murshidabad, Nadia, Howrah and Hooghly.
The cyclone ravaged adjacent coasts of the state and Bangladesh between Sagar Island and Khepupara, near the southwest of Mongla in the neighbouring country, after its landfall process began at 8.30 pm on Sunday, causing extensive damage to infrastructure and property.
Waterlogging has been reported in several areas, compounding the misery of the affected residents.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
