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Chief Minister review details of the situation from senior officials & the Chief Secretary

After Cyclone ‘Biparjoy’ hit the Gujarat coast on Thursday night, Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel held a high-level review meeting in SEOC

Chief Minister review details of the situation from senior officials, including the Chief Secretary

Due to advance planning of the state government and constant guidance of Hon’ble Chief Minister and joint efforts of all departments, major casualties were avoided in Gujarat: Relief Commissioner Mr. Alok Kumar Pandey

• Due to the robust planning of the State Government, there were no casualties during the cyclone
• More than one lakh citizens were relocated from the affected areas to safer places.
• This is one of the largest evacuations in the history of Gujarat.
• Thousands of lives have been saved after fighting against the natural calamity for almost five days.
• All 1137 fallen trees have been removed so far and 260 roads have been reconstructed
• Due to strong winds, power was cut in more than 4600 villages, out of which electricity was restored in 3580 villages.

Gandhinagar, 16th June 2023: Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel assembled in the State Emergency Operation Center on Friday morning to overview the situation in the affected districts after Cyclone Biparjoy hit the coast of Gujarat on Thursday night. He held a meeting with the Chief Secretary including the high officials of various departments at SEOC in detail.

Commissioner of Relief Shri Alok Pandey while giving the details of the review meeting said that under the guidance of Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel, and the coordination between concerned departments, the state was braced for facing the cyclonic effects and has not reported any casualties till now. As part of its strategic and advanced planning, Gujarat Government relocated more than one lakh citizens to safer places. “This is one of the largest evacuations in Gujarat’s history. Today we have been able to save thousands of lives after facing a natural calamity for almost five days.”

He added that Hon’ble Chief Minister received detailed information about the district-wise situation from the high officials of various departments present at the meeting. As a result of the cyclone, instructions were given including immediate restoration of water, communication systems, electricity, and roads in the affected districts. Apart from this, the higher officials were also asked to get the preliminary damage estimate and decide like cash hold, household chattel, shack assistance, and animal assistance for the affected.

Commissioner of Relief Shri Alok Pandey shared that the districts affected by the cyclone have suffered economic and environmental damage however they will recover shortly. As many as 1137 trees were fallen obstructing 263 roads. As of now, the fallen trees have been removed and 260 roads have been restored, the remaining 3 will be recovered shortly.

He added that as many as 5,120 power poles fell in the affected districts due to strong winds, causing power outages in more than 4,600 villages, out of which electricity has been restored in 3,580 villages. PGVCL teams are continuously working to restore electricity to the rest of the villages despite the ongoing rain.
Giving information about the damage, he said that 20 kutcha houses, 9 pucca houses, and about 65 huts have completely collapsed in the affected districts. While as many as 474 Kutcha houses and 2 Pucca houses have been partially damaged.

As per the weather forecast from Meteorological Department, cyclone Biparjoy will cross Gujarat in the evening, after which the wind speed will gradually decrease. It is expected to witness heavy rainfall in the affected areas like Kutch, Dwarka, Patan, and Banaskantha among other regions.

Chief Principal Secretary to CM, Shri K. Kailashnathan, Chief Secretary to CM, Shri Rajkumar, Additional Chief Secretaries of Health, and Revenue Department along with other senior officials and secretaries were present in the review meeting.

Source: Information Department, Gujarat