Cyclone 'Titli' crosses Odisha coast, no loss of life
Bhubaneswar, Oct 11: Cyclone Titli uprooted trees and electric poles and damaged hutments in Odisha's Ganjam and Gajapati districts after making landfall early Thursday morning, but no loss of life was reported from any part of the state, officials said.
The cyclone also triggered heavy rainfall in at least three districts and caused minor damage to power and communication.
"There has been no major damage or report of casualty received from any part of the state so far. Some destruction was reported from Ganjam and Gajapati districts," Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) B P Sethi said.
Power supply and telephone links got disrupted and road communication snapped due to uprooted trees at many places of Gajapati district, the SRC said.
Efforts are on to clear roads blocked by uprooted trees and restore power supply in affected areas at the earliest, he said.
In all, eight districts - Ganjam, Gajapati, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore - have been affected by "very severe cyclone Titli", he said.
Cyclone 'Titli' triggered heavy to very heavy rainfall in Ganjam, Gajapati and Puri districts of Odisha, while damage of hutments and asbestos-roofed houses, street lights, road blockade due to uprooted trees were reported from Ganjam.
Road communication between Paralakhemundi and Mohana and some other block headquarters in Gajapati had been disrupted under the impact of the cyclone, he said.
In Ganjam, reports of damage to hutments and other structures and uprooting of trees were received from some areas, he said.
The latest India Meteorological Department (IMD) report said cyclone 'Titli made the landfall between 4.30 and 5.30 am in south-west coast of Gopalpur near Palasa in Andhra Pradesh with an estimated maximum sustained surface wind speed of 140-150 kmph gusting to 165 kmph.
The landfall process has been completed and "the centre of eye of cyclone 'Titli' lies over the land," the IMD said.
The system is now moving northeastwards towards Gangetic West Bengal across Odisha and it will weaken gradually, it said.
An hour after the landfall, Gopalpur in Odisha reported surface wind at 126 kmph, Kalingapatanam in Andhra Pradesh recorded wind speed of 56 kmph.
As cyclone 'Titli' entered the land mass, some districts, including Ganjam, Gajapati and Puri, are receiving good amount of rainfall coupled with high speed wind.
Director of Meteorological (MeT) Centre Bhubaneswar H R Biswas said the "very severe cyclonic storm" (VSCS) is being monitored by the coastal Doppler Weather Radars at Visakhapatnam, Gopalpur and Paradip.
As part of its pre-cyclone preparedness, the Odisha government has evacuated over 3 lakh people living in low-lying areas of the five coastal districts ahead of the landfall.
They were accommodated in 1,112 cyclone shelters.
Altogether, 105 pregnant women in Ganjam district and 18 in Jagatsinghpur have been shifted to hospitals, the SRC said.
He said 13 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) have been deployed at several places along with fire brigade.
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Eight people, including four minor boys, held in Sikkim for rape of 13-year-old girl
Gangtok: Police have arrested eight people, including four minors and a woman in Gyalshing district on Sunday, for involvement in a case of sexual harassment and also rape of a 13-year-old girl.
A case was filed and eight people were arrested after the Child Welfare Committee gave a complaint to the police on Friday regarding the matter. Police have registered the case under various sections of the BNS and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Police officers have said that the Committee was informed by the girl’s school about her situation. The girl revealed during counseling that a woman in her locality had been asking her for help in domestic work. She also informed the police that the woman had forced her to have sex with her husband as well as two other men in exchange for money. Additionally the victim told the counselor that four boys had sexually assaulted her over the last one year.
Police have arrested the woman, her husband and the two men and also taken the four minors into custody based on the statement of the girl.
It is learned that the girl is receiving counseling and medical treatment under the care of the Child Welfare Committee.
Further investigation is underway.
