'Fani' fury weakens, heavy rainfall predicted in Odisha, AP, Bengal, northeast: MHA
New Delhi: The eye of cyclonic storm 'Fani' has "completely moved into land" by 10 am Friday weakening its fury, but heavy rainfall is still predicted in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and parts of the northeastern states, the Home Ministry said Friday.
According to the National Emergency Response Centre, under the home ministry, power and telecommunication lines in Puri district of Odisha are completely down and restoration work is on.
Rescuers belonging to the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Navy, Coast Guard, Army and Air Force have been deployed in a mass operations, closely monitored by the central government.
"The landfall process started Friday 8 am close to Puri and the eye of the system has completely moved into land by 10 am. The 'extremely severe' cyclonic storm 'Fani' weakened into 'very severe' cyclonic storm and lay centred at 11:30 am about 10 km to east of Bhubaneswar and 30 km to the south of Cuttack," a home ministry statement said.
Moderate rainfall is expected at most places, heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places and extremely heavy rains at isolated places over coastal Odisha and adjoining districts of interior parts of the state on Friday.
Most places in Odisha is likely to receive light to moderate rains on Saturday with heavy to very heavy rainfall occurring at isolated places in Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts.
In Andhra Pradesh, light to moderate rainfall is likely at most places with heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places over Srikakulam district on Friday. Also light to moderate rainfall is likely in West Bengal on Friday, with heavy to very heavy showers at a few places and extremely heavy rains at isolated places.
Light to moderate rainfall is expected at most places and heavy rains at isolated places over sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim on Saturday.
Cyclone 'Fani' is being monitored by the home ministry at the highest level round the clock. The ministry is in constant touch with the state chief secretaries and relief commissioners and central agencies concerned, the statement said.
Helpline number 1938 has been activated in the home ministry control room. The NDRF has deployed 60 teams each comprising 45 personnel while 25 teams are kept on standby.
The Indian Navy has deployed six ships on the eastern seaboard for relief operations and five ships, six aircraft and seven helicopters have been kept on standby for rescue and relief operations in Visakhapatnam.
The Indian Air Force has deployed two C-17 aircraft while two C-130 and four AN-32 planes have been kept on standby for relief tasks. The Indian Coast Guard has deployed six ships and six more ships are kept on standby.
The Indian Army has kept three columns on standby at Gopalpur, two columns and two Engineering Task Force (ETFs) at Ranchi and four columns and four ETFs at Panagarh.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
