December 03, 2017: Cyclone Ockhi has moved away from the Lakshadweep islands towards the north west direction bringing relief from rain and storm.
Relief operations are in full swing in all the affected areas. Authorities said, relief operations will continue for 2 more weeks in the worst-hit Minicoy and Kalpeni islands.
The sea route communication between the islands and the main land has been stopped till the weather improves. All efforts are being made to re-establish the communication network and power supply in the islands. The MeT department has said, Cyclone Ockhi has moved north-northwestwards and lays centered over east-central and adjoining southeast Arabian Sea.
The storm is likely to weaken in the next 48 hours. The department has issued a warning of heavy rainfall at isolated places over south Gujarat. It has also warned of very rough sea conditions over and around north Lakshadweep Islands in next 12 hours.
Fishermen around Lakshadweep Islands have been advised to remain out of the sea. They have also been warned against venturing into the sea off Karnataka, Goa and South Maharashtra coasts. Meanwhile, the Indian Coast Guard today rescued 19 fishermen in distress at high seas on board two fishing boats in Kanyakumari.
It also rescued three fishermen from Kollam. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said, 89 boats and 1,154 fishermen have taken shelter in various ports of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa and Lakshwadeep. In a tweet, she said, they are mainly from Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The Navy’s search and rescue operations continued for the third day over Southeast Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep islands. The Southern Naval Command has deployed a number of Indian Naval Ships. It has sent INS Shardul to Minicoy islands and INS Sharda to Kavaratti with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief provisions including water, medical equipment, blankets, diving team and decontamination kits. Naval ships have also sailed out from Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata for Lakshadweep and Minicoy islands with relief provisions.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said, 89 boats and 1,154 fishermen have taken shelter in various ports of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa and Lakshwadeep. In a tweet, she said, they are mainly from Kerala and Tamil Nadu. (AIR News)
