Preparing for Biparjoy landfall: Fishing activities curbed, evacuation along Gujarat coasts begin

Fishing activities along Gujarat's south and north coasts have been suspended and authorities began evacuating people in districts by the sea in view of cyclone 'Biparjoy' likely to make landfall along the Saurashtra-Kutch coasts as a very severe cyclonic storm, officials said on Monday. Officials in coastal Devbhumi Dwarka said around 1,300 people have been shifted to safer places so far in this regard.In its latest bulletin, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the 'extremely severe cyclonic storm' was very likely to move north-northeast and cross Saurashtra and Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts between Mandvi (Gujarat) and Karachi (Pakistan) by the noon of June 15 as a 'very severe cyclonic storm' with maximum sustained wind speed of 125-135 kilometres per hours (kmph) gusting to 150 kmph.