The massive Cyclone Biparjoy hit Gujarat hard on Thursday night and left what can only be called a “trail of destruction”. However, human casualties were minimal, as the Gujarat government had evacuated more than 90,000 people well in advance with the help of paramilitary and civil defence.
Now, with the cyclone having become a “deep depression” and causing heavy rainfall in neighbouring Rajasthan, the focus has shifted to relief and repair in Gujarat.
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Assessing the impact of Biparjoy (‘be-pur-joy’), a Bengali word that literally means “calamity” or “disaster”, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said on Twitter: “We have been able to fight a big calamity without any casualty. NDRF (National Disaster Response Force), SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) and other agencies worked tirelessly to mitigate any damage caused by the cyclone. This was possible under the guidance of PM Modi and HM Amit Shah. I am grateful to the people of the state for being supportive. Now the big challenge is to restore and get life back on track, all the agencies will work on it now and we will soon achieve success in it too.”
The Border Security Force and the Indian Army have been engaged in the pre-landfall evacuation and post-landfall relief work.
As Biparjoy has torn through people’s homes in the coastal areas, uprooted trees, and destroyed electric poles, plunging nearly 1,000 villages into darkness, Gujarat has its hands full working its way out of the damage.
