Amitabh Bachchan has urged citizens to be vigilant and safe on the wake of Cyclone Tauktae threat. The Sholay star took to his Twitter handle to urge the citizens to be prepared. In his informative yet brief message, he prayed for peoples’ safety and also mentioned that the cyclone’s effect is evident. He tweeted, “The effects of the #CycloneTauktae have begun .. rains in Mumbai .. please be safe and protected .. prayers as ever.” Earlier, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar had also explained the measures that are taken in order to prepare for the cyclone. At a press conference, she said that fire brigade teams are on stand-by and nearly 100 lifeguards have been deputed for emergency rescue and related operations.
Meanwhile, the office of Maharashtra chief minister tweeted to say Uddhav Thackeray will attend a meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah at 11:30 am to discuss Maharashtra’s preparedness for Cyclone Tauktae. Maharashtra is one of the five vulnerable states which have been affected by the movement of the cyclone.Four people were killed and 73 villages destroyed in six districts of Karnataka due to Cyclone Tauktae, according to state disaster management authority on Sunday. Out of these six districts, three are coastal and three belong to the hilly region of the state in Western Ghats, the KSDMA further said. Meanwhile, the cyclone is "very likely" to keep moving in north-northwest direction, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. By late afternoon, its centre will be north-northwest of Goa, it added. Under the impact of Cyclone Tauktae, gale winds and rainfall will continue for almost the entire day, the IMD said, which earlier on Sunday issued a statement confirming that the storm has intensified into "very severe cyclonic storm".