Cyclone Fani fear shuts Kolkata down

KOLKATA: The entire city went into a shell and life came to a virtual standstill in the later half of Friday, hours before the effect of cyclone Fani could be felt in Kolkata. The state administration took multiple steps to tackle the severe storm, but the city realized the dangers of staying outdoors and decided to self-impose an impromptu curfew. By 4pm, there was an ominous lull before the storm — with roads deserted, markets shut and crowds rushing towards stations and bus-stops.
It was not only the railways that cancelled trains and the airport that shut down, almost all offices — including those in Sector V and Dalhousie — asked their employees to leave after the first half. Though several schools and colleges remained open, attendance was low. Most schools got over much ahead of schedule. Kolkata traffic police said it would shut down flyovers after midnight, if required, when the cyclone would be at its peak.

Most long-distance buses, especially those plying to coastal towns like Digha and Puri, cancelled their trips. The cops took to loudspeakers to ensure that all ghats were cleared of revellers and barricades were put up to stop anyone from venturing near the river. Local public transport — including app cabs and autos — were few. “I had decided to return home by 4pm. But my office asked me to leave by 2pm. Even then, I had to wait for 30 minutes to get an AC bus, which had only a few passengers,” said Tathagata Mukherjee, a resident of Behala, who works in an IT firm at Rajarhat. The chairman of Century Plyboards, Sajjan Bhajanka, said the company had allowed its employees to leave early. “We have declared a holiday on Saturday,” he said.

The ever-busy markets at Gariahat, Hatibagan and New Market looked different on Friday. There were just a few shoppers, who were told by the few hawkers present not to return till Monday. Shankar Malakar, a Gariahat trader, said most of his employees did not turn up. “I have decided to keep the shop closed till Sunday. The safety of my workers is my responsibility,” he said.
All malls in the city — including the likes of South City, Quest Mall and Acropolis — were asked to down shutters by 4pm. “We decided to shut at 3pm as a pre-emptive measure. We will remain shut till Saturday noon. We will review the situation before deciding to open the mall,” said Man Mohan Bagree, vice-president, South City Mall.
KMC ensured that all the underconstruction sites — including The 42 — evacuated their workers and removed all equipment to a safe place. “All high-mast lights and hoardings were also brought down and parks were shut as well, said a civic official. KMC and Kolkata Police worked round the clock to keep losses to a minimum. Mayor Firhad Hakim shared his office number (9830037493) and asked citizens to report any civic issue so that KMC boroughs can react immediately. Low-lying areas adjoining EM Bypass, Metiabruz and Behala were given special attention. KMC has kept 350 pumps — submersible and portable — ready to flush out water.
“Specific jetting-cum-suction machines have been deployed in low-lying zones. All risk-prone lamp posts have been identified and removed,” said Hakim. According to him, basic relief materials — like tarpaulin sheets and dry food — have been stocked at all borough offices.
Each police division has been provided with a special vehicle and two inspectors so that they can respond in the quickest possible time and reach the affected zone. Six boats of the DMG will be further augmented for this purpose. “We have four objectives — prevent loss of life, rescue the stranded, stop property damage and begin rehabilitation,” said additional CP-I Jawed Shamim.
Sensing the need to keep all communication channels open in case of mobile services taking a hit, police have decided to open up more frequencies so that rescue operations can continue unabated. Kolkata Police have decided to keep one disaster management team ready for each of the nine police divisions.