Bengal braced for Cyclone Remal, with Amphan lessons; Chairman’s meeting PM
Passengers at Kolkata airport on Sunday after around 325 flights were canceled or postponed. (PHOTO: PTI)
Gangetic West Bengal braced for the impact of Cyclone Remal, which turned into a severe cyclonic storm, threatening widespread disruption to public life. As of press time, the cyclone had not yet made landfall, but flights were canceled during the day and cargo movements were suspended.
In an all-on-deck approach, the West Bengal government has set up a 24×7 control room at Nabanna, the state secretariat, to coordinate with various disaster management teams. The Kolkata Police has set up a unified command center at Lalbazar headquarters. And Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim assured that Team KMC was with the people.
Not just the state government, the Center also took action. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday chaired a meeting to review preparedness for the high-intensity cyclone, which could make landfall between the coasts of Bangladesh and West Bengal around midnight. In a media briefing, Hakim said KMC officials would work all night until the crisis around Kolkata blows over. About 15,000 workers were on site to handle the situation. Based on 2020’s Cyclone Amphan which devastated the city and uprooted around 5,000 trees, Hakim said at least seven JCB cranes remained on standby.
According to the weather bureau, Remal is likely to move further northwards, intensify further and cross Bangladesh and adjoining coasts of West Bengal between Sagar Island and Khepupara, close to south-west Mongla (Bangladesh) by midnight of May 26 as a severe cyclonic storm with maximum sustained wind speed of 110-120 km/h with gusts up to 135 km/h.
Police were taking aim in various parts of the city to warn of the approaching cyclone. RP Sanjiv Goenka group company,
CESC, which provides power in Kolkata and surrounding areas, also fielded microphones and sent safety messages to consumers.
The company has deployed more than 5,000 workers and officers to tackle the situation. Additional repair teams have been assembled and deployed at strategic locations. The Kolkata airport was on alert due to the “predicted heavy winds” and “heavy to very heavy rainfall” expected in Kolkata. Flight operations were closed between 12 noon on May 26 (Sunday) and 9 am on May 27 (Monday), a duration of 21 hours, due to the impact of Cyclone Remal on the coastal region of West Bengal.
Aviation industry sources estimate that approximately 325 flights were canceled or postponed as a result of this 21-hour closure.
The Kolkata airport handles between 320 and 340 domestic flights and around 50 international flights every day, besides 20 to 30 unscheduled flights. Air India and SpiceJet said they had canceled all their flights during the 21-hour period. Vistara stated that its flights to and from Calcutta may be affected by the cyclone.
IndiGo, which handles around 60 percent of the daily flights at Kolkata airport, has rescheduled and canceled “some flights” due to Cyclone Remal and the Notam (notice to pilots) issued in Kolkata. “Passengers have been informed in advance of all changes and will receive real-time updates on social platforms. Mitigation measures have been taken to avoid inconvenience to passengers due to the cyclone,” IndiGo said.
According to the Ministry of Railways, there was no cancellation of long-distance trains due to Cyclone Remal. A railway official said cancellations of short-distance and local trains are being considered from Sunday evening, and a call for disruption of train services will be taken after a thorough assessment.
On Saturday, Rathendra Raman, chairman of Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, reviewed the preparedness.
Fearing poor weather conditions, the port suspended all cargo and container handling activities from 6:00 PM on May 26 to 6:00 AM on May 27.
Cyclone Remal is hitting West Bengal at a time when the general elections are in the final stages. With nine constituencies in the state going to vote on June 1, the cyclone could well become an X-factor, political observers pointed out. At a public meeting on Sunday, TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee requested party workers to reach the ground and help everyone.
“During these difficult times, you will find AITC leaders on the ground working day and night to help you, taking the affected to relief camps and providing essential relief materials, just like in the Duare Sarkar camps, when TMC workers help with forms and other requirements,” he said. .
(Sanjeeb Mukherjee, Deepak Patel, Dhruvaksh Saha, Ishita Ayan Dutt contributed to the story)
First print: May 26, 2024 | 10:59 PM IST