Bengal braced for Remal, with Amphan lessons

Prime Minister chairs meeting to review cyclone preparedness

Gangetic West Bengal braced for the impact of Cyclone Remal, which intensified into a severe cyclonic storm, threatening widespread disruption in public life. Till the time of going to press, the cyclone had not made landfall, but flights were cancelled through the day and cargo movements were put on hold.

In an all hands-on-deck approach, the West Bengal government set up a 24X7 control room at Nabanna, the state secretariat, to coordinate with different disaster management teams. The Kolkata Police set up a unified command centre at Lalbazar headquarters. And Kolkata Mayor, Firhad Hakim, assured that Team KMC was with the people. Not just the state government, the Centre got into action as well.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting on Sunday to review the preparedness for the high-intensity cyclone, which could make a landfall between Bangladesh and West Bengal coasts around midnight. In a media briefing, Hakim said that KMC officials would be at work through the night until the crisis over Kolkata blew over. About 15,000 workers were on the ground handling the situation. Taking a lesson from Cyclone Amphan in 2020 that ravaged the city uprooting around 5,000 trees, Hakim said, at least seven JCB cranes were kept on standby.