AHMEDABAD: Union Home Minister Amit Shah along with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Saturday conducted an aerial survey of areas badly affected due to cyclone Biparjoy in Gujarat's Kutch.
After completing an aerial observation and visiting many affected areas and hospitals, Shah addressed a press conference in Bhuj on Saturday.
“Cyclone Biparjoy demonstrated how the central government and the Gujarat government collaborated to make the best use of timely information. Only because the Gujarat government followed the guidelines announced by the NDMA did not a single person die, only 47 people were injured and 234 animals were lost. It is a credit to the Centre and the Gujarat government that no one was killed in the violent storm,” he said.
Talking about power supply, Shah said, “Many people said that there is no electricity in the villages. However, they are unaware that due to NDMA protocol, 3400 villages have been disconnected from HT line power supply. Electricity has been restored in 1600 villages and officials have promised me that it will be restored in practically all villages by the evening of the 20th.”
“1133 teams are working to restore power. Another 400 teams will be added tomorrow and around 7600 local employees are trying to restore power supply,” he added.
ALSO READ | Cyclone Biparjoy aftermath: 1,000 villages in Gujarat without power; trees uprooted, houses damaged
Shah also praised the Gujarat government for taking care of pregnant women during the cyclone. “1206 pregnant sisters were transported to the hospital during the cyclone, one child was born on the same day the cyclone hit and 707 births occurred in three days. I met mothers who gave birth to children and every woman was satisfied with the government's service,” he said.
Giving information about evacuations, Shah said, “1,08,208 people had been transferred to safer areas, while 73,000 cattle had been relocated. 3,27,890 trees were modified to cause less harm during the storm. This time, 4,317 hoardings were removed before the storm. Over 1,00,000 fishermen had been recalled, along with 21,585 vessels that were at sea prior to the storm. Where mobile towers were damaged, DG sets were placed, and communication systems were nearly totally restored.”
He said PM Modi also monitored the situation continually. "Prime Minister Modi alerted the management system as soon as he learned of the storm and he personally supervised the management system's functioning until one o'clock at night, giving required directions," he said.
However, cyclone Biparjoy’s after-effects still linger in Gujarat. As high-speed winds pounded Surat during the previous two days, a man was killed when a roof fell on him and a pedestrian was hurt when an empty water tank fell on him.
According to the Marine Salt Manufacturers' Association, significant rainfall has washed away tonnes of salt in Maliya in Morbi, Navlakhi in Kutch and many other places.
As a result of the storm, rain has been pouring down in North Gujarat’s Patan, Palanpur, Sabarkantha, Aravalli and Mehsana since Thursday night. Numerous trees have fallen in certain areas. The Banaskantha district talukas of Palanpur, Disa, Tharad, Vav, Deodar and Suigam are experiencing rain. Low-lying places are consequently flooded. As a result of today's intense rainfall in Patan, rainwater has now gotten to Gujarat's largest solar project in Charanka. Water blocked the Ahmedabad-Delhi National Highway as it traveled through Palanpur, which caused problems for automobiles.
