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Thousands evacuated as Phailin turns into a super cyclone

October 11, 2013

Super_cycloneBhubaneswar, Oct 11: Cyclone Phailin with a wind speed of 220km per hour is turning into a super cyclone before making landfall on Saturday evening near Gopalpur in Odisha where the government has galvanized its machinery to deal with its impact and is evacuating thousands of people from low-lying areas.

"The US Navy has also forecast that the wind speed will be above 240kmph. Therefore, the cyclone is not less than any super cyclone for us," special relief commissioner P K Mohapatra said.

He said that though the IMD on Friday indicated that the wind speed would be limited to 185kmph, it was now forecasting it at 220kmph.

Mohapatra said the IMD had declared the 1999 calamity as a super cyclone as the wind speed had crossed 220kmph.

"This time around, the wind speed is not much different than the previous super cyclone," he said.

Squalls with a wind speed of 45-55kmph to 65kmph have already started along Odisha coast since morning.

"It would increase in intensity with gale wind speeds reaching 210-220kmph along and off south Odisha at the time of landfall," the IMD said in a bulletin categorised as an Orange Message.

It would make landfall near Gopalpur in Ganjam district on Saturday evening after crossing an area between Paradip in Odisha and Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

The IMD said the cyclone over east central Bay of Bengal remained stationary and lay 520km south-southeast of Paradip and 530km southeast of Gopalpur.

The IMD forecast a storm surge of 2.5 metre to 3.0 metre in Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts.

A storm surge is a rise of the sea as a result of atmospheric pressure changes and winds associated with a storm.

Local Cautionary (LC-III) has been hoisted in all the ports in the state.The Navy, Airforce, NDRF, ODRF were ready for relief and rescue operation as soon as the cyclone hit the coast, Mohapatra said.

A worried state government held meetings and evaluated the changed circumstances.

"At least 28 teams of the National Disaster Response Forces are at the disposal of the Odisha government for evacuation and relief operations," a senior official said after one such meeting.

So far eight teams of NDRF, reaching having 20 personnel, have been deployed in Puri district, the official said.

Revenue and Disaster Management Minister S N Patro said district collectors have been told to complete evacuation of people by this evening.

"We do not want to take any chance," Patro said, adding that shelters were ready.

Appealing to the people not to panic, chief minister Naveen Patnaik asked them to cooperate with the government in relief and rescue operations.

Earlier:

Cyclone Phailin: Antony asks armed forces to be ready

New Delhi Oct 11: Defence Minister A K Antony today asked the armed forces to be ready to move in to Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in view of the impending severe cyclonic storm Phailin.

Two IAF IL-76 aircraft have already airlifted NDRF teams and equipment to Bhubneshwar.

IAF assets have been kept on stand by at various bases including – Raipur, Nagpur, Jagdalpur, Barrackpore, Ranchi and Gwalior.

It has also kept two C130J aircraft, 18 helicopters, 2 AN-32s aircraft on a standby to move at a short notice besides asking its Eastern Air Command to coordinate relief operation with the task force positioned at Barrackpore.

The intensity of cyclonic storm Phailin is likely to increase as it has crossed the wind speed of 205-215 kmph in the early hours today, the MET department said.

The storm is still 520 km south-southeast of Paradip, 530 km southeast of Gopalpur, and 530km east-southeast of Kalingapatnam.

It would move northwestwards and cross north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coast between Kalingapatnam and Paradip, close to Gopalpur (Odisha) by evening of 12th October as a "very severe cyclonic storm" with a maximum sustained wind speed of 205-215 kmph. The tide height too is expected to be around 2 meters to 2.5 meters.

"The intensity of the storm has increased in the last few hours. Although it is a very severe cyclonic storm, it still cannot be termed as a super cyclone. We have keeping a close watch on it" said a senior MET department official.


Earlier:

Phailin gains strength, wind speed to reach 215 kmph: IMD
Phailin_gainsBhubaneswar, Oct 11: The severe cyclonic storm Phailin over east central Bay of Bengal today further intensified and is all set to make a landfall close to Gopalpur in Odisha at a wind speed of at least 205 kmph tomorrow.

"The very severe cyclonic storm, PHAILIN over east central Bay of Bengal moved west-northwestwards with a speed of 15 kmph and lay centred about 520km south-southeast of Paradip, 530 from Gopalpur and 530km east-southeast of Kalingapatnam," the IMD said in its latest bulletin.

"It would move northwestwards and cross north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coast between Kalingapatnam and Paradip, close to Gopalpur (Odisha) by the evening of October 12," the IMD said.

IMD, which till last night expected that the wind speed would remain limited within 185 kmph during landfall on Saturday, said in its latest bulletin that Phailin would hit with increased intensity with a maximum sustained speed of 205-215 kmph.

Similarly, though IMD forecast a storm surge of 1.5 meter to 2 meter in Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts in the coast yesterday, today it said the storm surge height will be around 2 meter to 2.5 meter above astronomical tide. This would inundate low lying areas of Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur in Odisha.

Squally winds speed reaching 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph have already started along Odisha coast this morning under the influence of Phailin. "It would increase in intensity with gale wind speed reaching 205-215 kmph along and off coastal districts of south Odisha at the time of landfall," the IMD said.

Meanwhile, a worried state government held several meetings and took stock of the situation in the changed circumstances. The state government has already asked the district authorities to start evacuation of people living in low lying areas close to the sea.

"We have ordered that nobody should be allowed to stay in thatched and weak houses," Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Mohapatra said.

The personnel of of Odisha State Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and fire men have already been deployed.

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News Network
May 23,2020

New Delhi, May 23: On the occasion of Jumat-ul-Vida, the last Friday of the ongoing holy month of Ramzan, a select group of people offered namaz at Delhi's Jama Masjid ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, while adhering to social distancing following relaxations in the fourth phase of the COVID-19 lockdown.

"A large number of people wanted to offer prayers today but we told them they should do so from their homes. Only the staff of the mosque and a few members of the family offered prayers here," Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid said.

The coronavirus pandemic has also marred the excitement of Eid for the vegetable and fruit vendors in neighbouring Daryaganj.

The fourth phase of nation-wide lockdown extended till May 31, began from Monday in which markets and shops were allowed to open. However, due to persisting fear of COVID-19, the sale of products is yet to pick pace.

Unlike each year, the market lacks the sheen this Eid with no bustle and people cautious about venturing out.

Salim, who has been selling cheese and curd in the market for the last 35 years, told ANI, "I have never seen such an Eid. There is an atmosphere of fear in the minds of people."

Another fruit seller Haseen Malik said that "During the month of Ramadan, most people relish fruits such as musk melon, sweet lemon and watermelon so there is some demand for it. But there is no excitement for Eid this year. The sale has been at an all-time low because of the lockdown."

In the wake of the festival and to ensure social distancing, Delhi Police has made elaborate security arrangements. 

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Agencies
May 31,2020

New Delhi, May 31: The fourth phase of the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, which began on May 18, saw 85,974 COVID-19 cases till 8 am on Sunday, which is nearly half of the total cases reported in the country so far.

Lockdown 4.0, which will end on May 31 midnight, has accounted for 47.20 per cent of the total coronavirus infection cases, number crunching from the Union Health Ministry data reveals.

The lockdown, which was first clamped on March 25 and spanned for 21 days, had registered 10,877 cases, while the second phase of the curbs that began on April 15 and stretched for 19 days till May 3, saw 31,094 cases.

The third phase of the lockdown that was in effect for 14 days ending on May 17, recorded 53,636 cases till 8 am of May 18.

The country had registered 512 coronavirus infection cases till March 24.

India is the ninth worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic as of now.        

The first case of COVID-19 in India was reported on January 30 from Kerala after a medical student of Wuhan university, who had returned to India, tested  positive for the virus.

India registered its highest single-day spike of COVID-19 cases on Sunday, with 8,380 new infections reported in the last 24 hours, taking the country's tally to 1,82,143, while the death toll rose to 5,164, according to the Union Health Ministry.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stood to 89,995, while 86,983 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said.

"Thus, around 47.75 per cent patients have recovered so far," a senior Health Ministry official said.

With the fourth phase of lockdown ending on Sunday, the Home Ministry on Saturday said 'Unlock-1' will be initiated in the country from June 8 under which the nationwide lockdown will be relaxed to a great extent, including opening of shopping malls, restaurants and religious places, even as strict restrictions will remain in place till June 30 in the country's worst-hit areas.

While announcing the extension of the lockdown in containment zones across the country, the Home Ministry said temples, mosques, churches and other religious places and shopping malls will be allowed to open in a phased manner from June 8, while a decision on opening of schools and colleges will be taken in July in consultation with states.

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News Network
May 9,2020

New Delhi, May 9: Three promoters of Ram Dev International, recently booked by the CBI for allegedly cheating a consortium of six banks to the tune of Rs 411 crore, have already fled the country before the State Bank of India reached the agency with the complaint, officials said on Saturday.

The CBI had recently booked the company engaged in export of Basmati rice to the West Asian and European countries and its directors Naresh Kumar, Suresh Kumar and Sangita on the basis of complaint from the State Bank of India (SBI), which suffered the loss of more than Rs 173 crore, they said.

The company had three rice milling plants, besides eight sorting and grading units in Karnal district with offices in Saudi Arabia and Dubai for trading purposes, the SBI complaint said.

Besides SBI, other members of consortium are Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, IDBI, Central Bank of India and Corporation Bank, they said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) did not carry out any searches in the matter because of the coronavirus-induced lockdown, the officials said.

The agency will start the process of summoning the accused, incase they do not join the investigation, appropriate legal action will be initiated, they said.

According to the complaint filed by SBI, the account had become non-performing asset (NPA) on January 27, 2016.

The banks conducted a joint inspection of properties in August and October, nearly 7-9 months later only to find Haryana Police security guards deployed there, they said.

"On inquiry, it has been come to notice that borrowers are absconding and have left the country," the complaint filed on February 25, 2020, after over a year of account becoming NPA, the officials said.

The complaint alleged that borrowers had removed entire machinery from old plant and fudged the balance sheets in order to unlawfully gain at the cost of banks'' funds, it said.

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