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Cyclone weakens, Gujarat withdraws high alert

GANDHINAGAR: The high alert issued for the coastal areas in the south Gujarat region was withdrawn on Wednesday evening after cyclone Phyan, which crossed inland between Mumbai and Alibag in Maharashtra, weakened.

The weather bureau, however, did not withdraw the advisory to the fishermen in the coastal areas in the southern and Saurashtra regions asking them not to venture out into the sea.

The authorities and fishermen’s associations were making efforts to contact fishermen who had sailed out from Navsari, Bulsar and some other smaller fishing ports in south Gujarat four to seven days earlier.

A government spokesman said 20 boats with 150 to 200 fishermen from Navsari and other south Gujarat ports were still “missing” as no contact could be established with them till late on Wednesday evening.

In the neighbouring Union territory of Daman, about 20 fishing trawlers with about 200 fishermen returned to the port by evening, but about 300 others in 35 boats were still reported “missing.”

According to the Daman fishermen’s association president, Gopal Tandel, about 80 fishing boats from the Union territory port had gone out in the high seas, of which only 30 have returned.

The Gujarat administration had issued a high alert and asked the Collectors of the coastal districts to stay in their offices and to keep in constant touch with the capital.

Chief Minister Narendra Modi convened a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning to review the situation and decided to postpone the ambitious “Gunotsava-2009” programme scheduled to begin from Thursday. The programme was aimed at quality check of all the 32,600-odd State government-run primary schools by some 3,000 government officials.

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