DTE Ground Report: Kutch gears up as Cyclone Biporjoy nears coast

Kutch is geared up to brace the wrath of Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Biporjoy, which is expected to make landfall in the late afternoon hours of June 15, 2023.

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Mansukh Mandaviya, has touched base in the Gujarat district and took stock of last minute arrangements from ground zero, even before the cyclone’s tail enters Kutch.

Two major ports — government-owned Kandla and Adani Group’s Mundra — continue to display the maritime Signal Number 10, which means ‘severe cyclone to cross over or near the port’.

The Kutch district administration, alongwith corporate social responsibility (CSR) arms of companies operational in Kutch, has evacuated people living along its low-lying areas.

Club house at Gopalpuri, the residential colony of Kandla Port employees, has been converted to a shelter home along with other government schools and government premises. These are the places where residents residing in low-lying areas have been shifted.

Such temporary shelter homes and makeshift arrangements have been made across coastal destinations stretching from Mandvi to Jakhau to Naliya.

Mandaviya, along with several stakeholders including Defence and paramilitary officials, took stock of the situation on the ground. He has been monitoring the cyclone progress on a huge screen and dashboard at Pandit Deendayal Port Trust (Kandla Port) office building.

Meanwhile, this reporter noted that power supply in remote parts of Kutch has been disrupted due to high winds brought about by Biporjoy.