PUDUCHERRY: Dozens of fishermen from Karaikal, who ventured out to sea to fish five days ago, could not be traced and the Puducherry government has alerted the Indian coastguard to track and rescue them.
Finance Minister MOHF Shahjahan told reporters in the presence of Development Commissioner A Anbarasu on Tuesday that dozens of fishermen from Karaikal ventured out to sea in more than 80 boats five days ago. The fishermen in 10 boats returned to shore safely while the fishermen in 48 boats reached Point Calimere (Kodiakkarai) in Nagapattinam district and the fishermen in five boats reached the coast of Andhra Pradesh safely after receiving the cyclone warning.
However, the fishermen in 30 boats have so far not reached shore. The minister said the fishermen could not be located and that the government has sought the assistance of the Indian Coast Guard to locate and rescue them.
He said the government had taken all precautionary measures to overcome the impact of the cyclone. The government has set up a control room with toll-free numbers (1070/1077) that will work 24 hours a day so that people can seek assistance in case of any eventuality.
It has formed 16 emergency support teams and committees at firka level with officials from line departments to carry out cyclone relief work. It has identified 16 vulnerable areas in Puducherry that may face the fury of the cyclone and has made elaborate arrangements to move people in the vulnerable regions to safer locations in case of emergencies.
The government has established 196 relief camps in Puducherry and 50 in Karaikal with adequate stocks of basic goods to provide food and clean water to displaced people.
Three NDRF teams, two with 18 members for Puducherry and one team with 20 members for Karaikal, have arrived to assist police and fire and rescue services personnel in cyclone relief and rehabilitation work.
The government has declared holidays for schools on Tuesday and Wednesday. All government offices / institutions, except departments involved in cyclone relief work, will be closed on Wednesday. Instead, all government offices will operate on December 12.
The minister appealed to people not to venture out of their homes unnecessarily until the cyclone warning is lifted.
The deep depression over the south of the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a cyclonic storm and is centered about 410 km east-southeast of Puducherry. It is most likely to cross in and around the coastal region of the Puducherry region during November 25 as a severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 100-110 km / h with gusts of 120 km / h, as projected by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).
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