Cyclone Vayu: Defence assets put on standby

New Delhi: All defence assets along the West Coast have been put on standby for quick response as strong winds, dust and heavy rainfall prompted by Cyclone Vayu hit certain parts of Gujarat. Though Cyclone Vayu is expected to skirt Gujarat’s Saurashtra coast, it will cause heavy rainfall along with strong winds in Junagarh, Porbandar, Diu, Dwarka, Porbandar, Somnath, Jamnagar.

On Thursday, defence minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the preparedness of the Indian Navy along the Maharashtra and Gujarat coast at the Naval Headquarters during which he was briefed about the state of preparedness of Navy resources.

IN ships Chennai, Gomati and Deepak at Mumbai have been packed with relief material and are ready to be deployed at short notice.

In addition, 5,000 litres of drinking water is also being embarked onboard IN ships. Seven IN aircraft and three helicopters are also on standby for deployment. In addition, two diving and rescue teams and three medical teams are ready to render assistance.

Though Cyclone Vayu has changed its course and would not be hitting Gujarat coast as strongly as expected, preparations have been made by the Navy to set up community kitchens at Dwarka and Porbandar. Navy officials said aircraft and helicopters would be deployed for the damage assessment and search and rescue operations as and when required.

“The defence minister was briefed about the ability and the readiness of various assets of Headquarters Western Naval Command (HQW-NC) that have been made ready to be deployed to the affected areas in case of requirement,” the Ind-ian Navy spokesperson said.

The Indian Navy also reviewed preparatory action in coordination with the state and civil administration of Guja-rat for Cyclone Vayu. The state administration, local district authorities and Indian Coast Guard have been directed to caution fishermen against proceeding to sea and take all necessary precautions in view of inclement weather. Navy said that Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) bricks and relief material have been embarked on board nominated ships of the Com-mand and are ready to be deployed at short notice.

In addition, Indian Navy ships operating at sea and aircraft/ helicopters on routine sorties have been directed to inform fishing vessels operating at sea and advise them to return to harbour.

Meanwhile, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) held a review meeting for checking the status of its airports in Gujarat through a video conference. “As per the status updates given by the airport directors in the state, it was observed that the effect of Cyclone Vayu has been milder at most of the airports of Gujarat. No damage to any airport has been reported so far, ” the AAI spokesperson said.