67 trains cancelled in view of cyclone Biparjoy, say Western Railway

New Delhi [India], June 12 : A total of 67 trains have been cancelled in view of cyclone Biparjoy which is set to make landfall on Thursday in Gujarat, said CPRO Western Railway on Monday.

In view of the 'Biparjoy' cyclone in Gujarat, Western Railway has decided to completely cancel 67 train operations in its cyclone-prone areas as a precautionary measure. In addition to this, various safety and security-related precautions are also being taken by WR for train passengers in these potential areas falling under its jurisdiction, added Western Railway.

Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert on Sunday for cyclones across Saurashtra and Kutch coasts in Gujarat.

Meanwhile, Indian Coast Guard ships are patrolling off the coast of Gujarat, in view of the impending cyclone Biparjoy, an official statement said on Monday.

Deputy Director General (Ops) Manish Pathak on Monday said that the Indian Coast Guard has taken all preventive measures regarding the impending Cyclone Biparjoy.

"The Indian Coast Guard has taken all the preventive measures. We have warned all the fishermen, though a fishing ban is in progress on the west coast of India from June 1 to July 31. However, country boats, the smaller ones which were out at sea have been shepherded back," DDG Pathak told ANI.

Earlier today Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting to review the preparedness of ministries/agencies of the Centre, as well as, Gujarat to deal with the situation arising out of the impending Cyclone Biparjoy.

According to the official statement, Prime Minister directed senior officers to take every possible measure to ensure that the State Government safely evacuates people living in vulnerable locations and to ensure maintenance of all essential services such as power, telecommunications, health, drinking water etc. and are restored immediately in the event of damages caused to them.

Also, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba on Monday chaired the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) and reviewed the preparedness of the Government of Gujarat and Central Ministries/Agencies to review preparedness for impending cyclone 'Biparjoy' in the Arabian Sea.

Gauba stressed the need to ensure that people from vulnerable areas are evacuated well in time and that preventive and precautionary measures should be taken by concerned authorities of the Government of Gujarat and concerned Central agencies.

Reviewing preparedness measures of the Central Agencies and Government of Gujarat, the Cabinet Secretary, Gauba said "The aim should be to keep the loss of lives to zero and minimize damage to property and infrastructure such as power and telecom, and in case of damage to this infrastructure, it must be restored in the shortest possible time."The Cabinet Secretary said fishermen at sea should be called back and ensure that people from vulnerable areas are evacuated well in time before the landfall of the cyclone.

He further assured the Government of Gujarat that all Central agencies are ready and available for assistance.

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