Kolkata: (Cyclone Dana News) In view of the danger of the low pressure formed in the Bay of Bengal turning into a cyclone, the Bengal government has decided to keep all schools and colleges closed in nine districts of the state from 23 to 26 October as a precautionary measure. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced this while addressing a press conference on the cyclone at the State Secretariat Navanna on Tuesday evening.

President's scheduled visit also cancelled

At the same time, a red alert has been issued in Odisha regarding the cyclone. Schools and colleges have been closed. Along with this, the President's scheduled visit has also been cancelled. Leave of government employees in Odisha has been cancelled. 17 teams of ODRAF have been deployed. Tourists have been advised not to visit Puri on 24 and 25 October.

Schools and colleges closed for four days

CM Mamata said that the state administration is fully prepared to deal with cyclone Dana. We do not want to take any risk. Therefore, as a precautionary measure, all schools and colleges in the coastal and surrounding nine districts will remain closed from Wednesday to Saturday.

After the announcement of the Chief Minister, its notification was also issued by the School Education Department. The nine districts mentioned in it include North and South 24 Parganas, East and West Medinipur, Jhargram, Bankura, Hooghly, Howrah and Kolkata. All schools and colleges in these districts will remain closed from 23 to 26 October.

This cyclone has been named 'Dana'. Due to its effect, heavy rains are expected in various districts of South Bengal during October 23 to 25.

Mamata said that full preparations are being made to deal with the cyclone. Integrated control rooms have been started at the state and district level, which will work round the clock.

Fishermen banned from going to sea from Wednesday

Fishermen have been advised not to go into the sea. There will be a complete ban on this from Wednesday. People are also being alerted through continuous mikes in coastal areas. Mamata said that South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, East Medinipur may be most affected by the cyclone. Neighboring districts may also be affected, as there will be heavy rains along with strong winds. All DM-SPs have been instructed to remove people living in low-lying areas and take them to a safe place.

Administration is fully alert

CM Mamata said that State and National Disaster Response Force (SDRF and NDRF) have also been deployed. Ferry services in coastal districts will also remain suspended from Wednesday until the situation becomes normal. Apart from this, the state government has also ordered to control the movement of tourists in coastal areas. Mamata said that adequate relief material has also been arranged in the concerned districts. The state and district administration are fully alert.

Special responsibility given to secretaries of various departments

CM Mamata said that the Principal Secretaries of various departments have been given the special responsibility of monitoring the disaster situation. They will keep an eye on the nine districts where the maximum damage is expected. Among them, senior IAS officer Manish Jain has been made in-charge of South 24 Parganas, Rajesh Sinha for North 24 Parganas, Rajesh Pandey for Howrah, Surendra Gupta for West Medinipur, Omkar Singh Meena for Hooghly, Parvez Ahmed Siddiqui for East Medinipur, Soumitra Mohan for Jhargram and Avnindra Sheel for Bankura district.

State cabinet meeting also on 24th

Mamata said that a meeting of the state cabinet will also be held on October 24. In view of the cyclone, she asked the ministers from coastal or remote districts not to attend this meeting. Instead, she instructed the concerned ministers to stay in their areas and districts during the cyclone and help the people.