As West Bengal braces itself for severe cyclonic storm Dana, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she would “personally monitor” the situation all night from the state secretariat Nabanna.
“I will stay awake all night at Nabanna and monitor the situation. We do not know the exact time of the landfall of the cyclone. A control room has been opened in Nabanna to monitor the situation 24/7 and take action. I will be personally here throughout the night. Other officials too will monitor the situation,” said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at a press conference.
Dana is expected to cross the coastline of West Bengal and make landfall between Bhitarkanika and Dhamara (Odisha) later tonight. Expected to pack wind speeds of 120/Kmph, it is likely to bring strong winds and heavy rain to West Bengal.
Strong winds and heavy rain are expected in parts of Odisha and Bengal, including Kolkata.
As it braces for impact, the West Bengal government has evacuated 2,82,863 people from eight districts — Kolkata, Howrah, Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Bankura and Hooghly. Twenty-two companies of National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force have been deployed in addition to a large number of police force, district administration officials, while schools and colleges shut down in these districts.
District administrations have been told to be in their offices till morning and monitor the situation, the CM said.
Flight and train services have been suspended from Thursday evening to Friday morning. Coastal areas were put on high alert.
Helpline numbers have been announced in the districts and in Kolkata for emergencies. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has its own control room and has kept its emergency workers and officials on standby. The Kolkata Police too announced helpline numbers.
Among those evacuated pregnant mothers due for delivery.
“Pregnant women and would-be mothers who are due for deliveries have been taken to Sagar Gramin Hospital in South 24 Parganas. This is for precaution. In this hospital alone, there are 100 such women brought there using ambulances,” Bhabani Maity, a health care worker attached to the hospital, told The Indian Express on the phone.