Ahmedabad, June 16 Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel late on Thursday, inquiring about the ground situation and relief work as the ‘very severe cyclonic storm’ Biparjoy made landfall near Jakhau in Kutch at around 7 pm earlier that evening.

“Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi inquired about the Biparjoy cyclone situation over Gujarat and sought complete details about it over a telephonic talk. He also expressed concern for the safety of wild animals, including lions in the Gir Forest, and inquired about the preparedness for their care,” Patel wrote in a Tweet posted in Gujarati.

Over one lakh citizens have been evacuated to safer places in the eight districts that were in the path of the cyclone.

Also read: Weakened storm. Hours after making landfall in Gujarat, Biparjoy weakens into cyclonic storm

Meanwhile, in Kutch district the local administration had repeatedly advised people to stay indoors much before the landfall. This helped prevent widescale damage to life and property even as the landfall was underway.

There were a couple of incidents of fire breaking out in coal stocks lying at the port in Jamnagar and near Okha Jetty. The authorities requested the Indian Coast Guard and Navy for additional help even as the fire-tenders were rushed to control the fire.

The urban pockets of Bhuj, Anjar, Jamnagar, Morbi, Porbandar, Dwarka town faced frequent power outages during the day on Thursday ahead of the landfall. “There has been no power since evening in parts of the city. Strong winds are blowing across the city,” said Kartik Joshi a resident of Jamnagar city.

Jamnagar district also houses world’s largest petroleum refinery by the Reliance Group. According to sources, vessel movement and exim operations were completely halted at the site, causing a partial disruption to the operations of the refinery. However, there were no reports of any damage or impact to the plant and equipment due to the cyclone.

During Thursday, 169 talukas in 30 of 33 districts received rain up to 86 millimeters. More rain is expected for Banaskantha and Patan districts in North Gujarat in the next one to two days.

As a preventive measure, the district education officers of Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Mehsana, Gandhinagar, Anand have suspended academic activities for Friday. Schools and colleges were already declared shut for those districts along the cyclone trajectory.

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