Cyclone Dana: PM Modi Speaks To Odisha CM, Enquires About State’s Preparedness

Bhubaneswar, Oct 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi twice on Thursday and enquired about the State's preparedness for the impending cyclone, which is likely to make landfall between Bhitarkanika and Dhamra early Friday.

according to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), the Chief Minister brought to the attention of the Prime Minister about the ongoing relocation of people and the deployment of response forces such as the NDRF and ODRAF for public safety.

The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction over the preparations made by the state government, the CMO said.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi held discussions on the cyclone 'Dana' and the preparations by the Odisha government to tackle the situation during the Union Cabinet meeting in Delhi.

Union Minister Amit Shah also called CM Majhi and enquired about the situation in view of the impeding cyclonic storm. He assured all possible assistance from the Centre to meet the challenge, the CMO said.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department's latest bulletin, severe cyclone 'Dana' moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 13 kmph during past 6 hours and lay centred about 90 km southeast of Paradip (Odisha), 110 km south-southeast of Dhamara (Odisha) and 210 km south of Sagar Island (West Bengal).

The cyclone is expected to make landfall early Friday between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port in Odisha, the IMD predicted.

Meanwhile, India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that the 'eye' (centre of the cyclonic storm) of severe cyclonic storm 'DANA', hasn’t been developed yet.

Mohapatra said that the 'eye' is formed when a cyclonic system becomes very strong. The cyclonic storm formed over the Bay of Bengal has remained as a severe cyclone and continued to move forward as predicted by the IMD.