The Odisha government has put on alert its southern and coastal districts in view of the likely movement of Cyclone Fani, a senior government officer said on Monday. The cyclone is, however, unlikely to make a landfall in the state, he said.
All the 880 cyclone centres besides 20 units of ODRAF (Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force), 12 units of NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) and 335 fire units have also been put on alert, the officer said. "Though Cyclone Fani is unlikely to make a landfall in Odisha, it will pass through the state's coast during its movement.
"Under its influence, the state may experience heavy rainfall and wind speed reaching upto 60 kmph," Chief Secretary A P Padhi told reporters after a high-level meeting here. The meeting was attended by top officials of the Odisha Police, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, Indian Coast Guard, NDRF, ODRAF and others. The Cabinet Secretary also held a video conferencing with chief secretaries of all the concerned states, including Odisha on Monday.
"We are prepared to tackle any eventuality though the IMD has so far not given any definite information regarding landfall of the cyclone in any state in the eastern coast, including Odisha," Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) B P Sethi saId. PTI
