Gujarat dials Odisha for tips on Vayu

BHUBANESWAR: The Gujarat government has sought help from Odisha to tackle Cyclone 'Vayu' which is expected to hit the western part of the country on Thursday afternoon.
On Wednesday, Gujarat chief secretary J N Singh called up his Odisha counterpart A P Padhi to seek advice on evacuating people to safety and on ways to minimize the damage. The Gujarat government has launched a massive evacuation exercise to shift people from low-lying areas.
"The chief secretary of Gujarat had called up to discuss measures that need to be taken before the cyclone makes landfall.I assured him of all possible help from our side," Padhi told reporters.
He added that authorities from Gujarat had sought advice on the evacuation process and the Odisha's experience in dealing with cyclones like Fani and Titli. He said Gujarat officials are in constant touch with Odisha's disaster management authorities.
Odisha recently drew praise from both within and outside the country for successfully evacuating more than 12 lakh people to safety before the extremely severe Cyclone Fani hit the state on May 3. This resulted in reducing human casualty.
The state has built around 900 multi-purpose cyclone shelters in coastal districts and has 20 well-trained units of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) ready with modern equipment at their disposal to tackle disasters.
Sources said if required, Odisha could send its ODRAF and fire services personnel to Gujarat to help in relief and rescue operations.
"The Centre has deployed adequate teams of National Disaster Response Force in Gujarat to take care of the situation. I don't think they will need our manpower. If the Centre asks us for help, we will send our teams immediately," said a senior state government official.
Last August, the ODRAF and fire service teams were engaged in relief and rescue operations during the floods in Kerala. A team of Odisha fire services personnel were also involved in the rescue operation to evacuate 15 miners who were trapped inside a flooded coal pit in Meghalaya in December.