Siraj Mohammad & Hrusikesh Mohanty
Rain lashes Bhubaneswar on Monday
Bhubaneswar/Berhampur: A low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression on Tuesday, but in a relief for Odisha, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the system is unlikely to develop into a cyclone. The weather system is expected to strengthen into a deep depression and cross the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh coast between Gopalpur and Visakhapatnam on the night of Sept 23 or early Sept 24.The depression was centred about 310km southeast of Puri and 310km east-southeast of Gopalpur around 5.30pm on Tuesday.In the wake of the IMD forecast, Ganjam and Kandhamal districts have geared up to face any eventuality. While the Ganjam administration has set up a control room and is preparing cyclone shelters, in addition to asking fishermen not to venture into the sea, Kandhamal has planned to close a landslide-prone stretch at Kaling Ghat on National Highway-157 on Sept 23 and 24.As a precautionary measure, the Ganjam district administration has asked its employees to remain at their workplaces.According to the IMD, the system is likely to intensify into a deep depression over the west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal during the next 24 hours. Thereafter, it is expected to continue moving west-northwestwards and cross the north Andhra Pradesh-south Odisha coast. “The south Odisha districts will mostly witness heavy to very heavy rainfall, with isolated extremely heavy rainfall up to 20cm or more on Sept 23 and 24 under influence of the system,” said IMD DG, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra.The interior, coastal and isolated north Odisha districts too will receive heavy to very heavy rainfall, he said and cautioned it may lead to rise in river water level.Mohapatra reiterated that IMD did not make any cyclone forecast so far.However, he said the squally wind with speed 55-65km per hour, gusting to 75km per hour is likely to prevail along and off the south Odisha and north Andhra Pradesh coast on Sept 23-24, when the system would approach towards the coast.The IMD, in its latest bulletin updates, issued a red warning of extremely heavy rainfall up to 20cm or more in Koraput, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kalahandi, Nawarangpur and Malkangiri during Wednesday and Thursday. A heavy to very heavy rainfall warning was issued for several other districts for four days from Tuesday. An orange warning of very heavy rainfall will prevail in at least 18 districts, including Balasore, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack and Mayurbhanj, during the period. Besides, a yellow warning of heavy rainfall will continue in some more districts, the bulletin indicates.Meanwhile, Ganjam collector Keerthi Vasan V, during a meeting with the officials concerned, asked them to prepare for any eventuality. He directed the officials to prepare cyclone shelters in the district, so that the residents of the low-lying areas could be shifted there as a safety measure, if needed. He has also asked the fishermen not to venture into the sea for fishing from Monday.Devidutta Mohanty, assistant director of fisheries (marine), Ganjam, said they have raised awareness in fishermen-dominated villages since Sunday afternoon, following the collector’s direction. “As reported, the fishermen have not gone to the sea on Monday,” he said.He added they will submit a report on the safe berthing of the fishing boats, with a joint inspection by the tehsildar and fishery officials concerned. A total of 1,591 fishing boats are in the district in its three units: Gopalpur, Sunapur and Ganjam, he said.Kandhamal collector Ved Bhusan said they have planned to close the landslide-prone stretch at Kaling Ghat on National Highway-157 on Sept 23 and 24, as a precautionary measure. The vehicular traffic will be diverted via Chakapada after it is closed, he said.Last Sept too, the road, connecting Kandhamal and Ganjam districts, had been closed for several days due to massive landslides.