After Lakshadweep, Cyclone Ockhi to move towards Maha, Gujarat coasts; CM Fadnavis assures safety of fishermen

Mumbai, December 4: While the threat of ‘Cyclone Ockhi’ is raising the levels amongst people, Ockhi is set to move towards Maharashtra and Gujarat in the next 48 hours. Cyclone has moved away from Lakshadweep while in its first tropical storm created a ruckus in coasts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu where at least 19 people got killed. 

While Google has also updated its status by providing the ‘alert’ of Ockhi cyclone. Cyclone Ockhi is the first tropical storm of the season that created havoc in the southern states of India. Many districts in South Kerala, Tamil Nadu and island group in the Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep has faced the ramshackle conditions.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman visited Kanyakumari on Sunday to review rescue operations in cyclone-affected regions. Over all 690 fishermen stranded at sea off Kerala coast have been rescued in combined operations carried out by the Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force. A total of 6,581 persons have been shifted to various relief camps in the state. The very severe cyclonic storm Ockhi lay centred over east central and south east central Arabian Sea.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also assured the complete safety to the rescued fishermen saying that “Maharashtra will completely look after everyone until the weather permits them to go back.”

As of 3 December, Ockhi was located 910 kilometres south-southwest of Mumbai and 1,120 kilometres south-southwest of Surat, according to the IMD. As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), it is very likely to cross south Gujarat and north Maharashtra coasts near Surat and develop into a deep depression by 5 December midnight.

Tamil Nadu CM talked with Prime Minister Modi over concerned situation to which PM Modi assured “immediate assistance” to the CM. On Monday morning, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met fishermen families affected by Cyclone Ockhi at Vizhinjam, Thiruvananthapuram.