Amphan army state joint operation
Amphan army state joint operation
The intensity, with which the super cyclone ‘amphan’ hit the state of West Bengal, is a well-known fact. This is said to be one of a kind, one that has not been experienced in decades. The meteorological department proved to be a boon in keeping a check on the loss of lives in the coastal areas. However, the kind of havoc this natural monster wreaked on the city streets was beyond comprehension.
While all were in their houses in the city, they only heard the sound of the destruction but the visuals of it, after the storm subsided brought tears to their eyes. It seemed to be a new place altogether. Huge uprooted trees blocked the roads; destroyed electrical poles, electrical wires lying where and glass pieces broken and shattered. Roofs hauled from someplace and landed on some others property, cars battered with trees smashed onto their roofs. All in all, it was a live picture of devastation everywhere.
These trees and poles, sources said, even damaged the drainage system and the drinking water pipes. The wreckage was a holistic one. It was hard, first of all, to accept the situation; let alone putting on a thinking cap to figure out ways of repairing the damage. The approach to a reconstruction of such large scale destruction was indeed going to be a mammoth task for the state government. The government was brought face to face with a situation in which time was their greatest enemy.
Water, the basic necessity of man, without which one cannot even consider surviving was compromised. Without electricity, water could not be pumped far and wide, and until the pipelines and drainage were fixed water could not reach its destination, which is every household. Thus, it was one of those crisis moments when the West Bengal government could not depend upon the respective department workers singularly. Being left with no other alternative, the Chief Minister sought the help of the Indian Army.
With the well trained and disciplined Indian Army coming in, the work of restoration became comparatively easier. Along with them, the NDRF and the SDRF teams were put to work as well. The Chief Minister (CM) ordered that maximum manpower be put to work and with immediate effect. The soldiers of the Kumaon regiment marched in with essential pieces of equipment for clearing the roads. Five columns of the army men were seen bringing bulldozers and pay loaders on the streets of Kolkata, namely, Ballygunge, Rajarhat, New Town, Tollygunge and Behala.
Despite the continuous efforts of these brave hearts, the process was taking quite an unexpected length of time. The blackout in various places throughout the city was slowly taking its toll on the citizens, and they resorted to protests. It was then that the CM had to appeal to the people to hold onto to their patience, for it was not an easy task. She came forward with the details of how many people had been deployed to carry out the smooth running and the quick restoration process. In an emergency press conference, she announced that a total of 225 teams were working non-stop to meet all requirements.
One of the significant challenges was the lockdown because of which the state agencies did not have 100% attendance. With reduced manpower and lack of skilled labour, it became somewhat troublesome to overcome all the trials. Cutting down the enormous uprooted trees and taking care that no further damage was caused seemed a daunting task. Another unfortunate thing was the lack of enough effective instruments to carry out such vast expanses of work. The Army had got some machinery to remove the trees, but there were not sufficient equipment. And because it was the same scene at several places, it took a lot of time to clear the roads.
Each column of the Army consists of 35 men, but that too seemed to be insufficient owing to the massive wreckage caused by the storm. Hence, the railway, port and other private sectors were also requested to send teams and tools, to help in the recovery process. The North and South 24 Parganas were hard hit too, so some columns of soldiers had to be deployed there as well. There were reports of 86 deaths in the state even after the state government had exercised evacuation as precautionary measures.
However, the wise call of the Chief Minister of ‘unified command mode’ around the clock had worked well. The joint efforts of the Indian Army, railways and the others, led to successful clearance of the roads, restoration of electricity and drinking water. The citizens could now breathe a sigh of relief and were thankful to the Indian Army once again for offering their strong support during testing times.
© Arked
The intensity, with which the super cyclone ‘amphan’ hit the state of West Bengal, is a well-known fact. This is said to be one of a kind, one that has not been experienced in decades. The meteorological department proved to be a boon in keeping a check on the loss of lives in the coastal areas. However, the kind of havoc this natural monster wreaked on the city streets was beyond comprehension.
While all were in their houses in the city, they only heard the sound of the destruction but the visuals of it, after the storm subsided brought tears to their eyes. It seemed to be a new place altogether. Huge uprooted trees blocked the roads; destroyed electrical poles, electrical wires lying where and glass pieces broken and shattered. Roofs hauled from someplace and landed on some others property, cars battered with trees smashed onto their roofs. All in all, it was a live picture of devastation everywhere.
These trees and poles, sources said, even damaged the drainage system and the drinking water pipes. The wreckage was a holistic one. It was hard, first of all, to accept the situation; let alone putting on a thinking cap to figure out ways of repairing the damage. The approach to a reconstruction of such large scale destruction was indeed going to be a mammoth task for the state government. The government was brought face to face with a situation in which time was their greatest enemy.
Water, the basic necessity of man, without which one cannot even consider surviving was compromised. Without electricity, water could not be pumped far and wide, and until the pipelines and drainage were fixed water could not reach its destination, which is every household. Thus, it was one of those crisis moments when the West Bengal government could not depend upon the respective department workers singularly. Being left with no other alternative, the Chief Minister sought the help of the Indian Army.
With the well trained and disciplined Indian Army coming in, the work of restoration became comparatively easier. Along with them, the NDRF and the SDRF teams were put to work as well. The Chief Minister (CM) ordered that maximum manpower be put to work and with immediate effect. The soldiers of the Kumaon regiment marched in with essential pieces of equipment for clearing the roads. Five columns of the army men were seen bringing bulldozers and pay loaders on the streets of Kolkata, namely, Ballygunge, Rajarhat, New Town, Tollygunge and Behala.
Despite the continuous efforts of these brave hearts, the process was taking quite an unexpected length of time. The blackout in various places throughout the city was slowly taking its toll on the citizens, and they resorted to protests. It was then that the CM had to appeal to the people to hold onto to their patience, for it was not an easy task. She came forward with the details of how many people had been deployed to carry out the smooth running and the quick restoration process. In an emergency press conference, she announced that a total of 225 teams were working non-stop to meet all requirements.
One of the significant challenges was the lockdown because of which the state agencies did not have 100% attendance. With reduced manpower and lack of skilled labour, it became somewhat troublesome to overcome all the trials. Cutting down the enormous uprooted trees and taking care that no further damage was caused seemed a daunting task. Another unfortunate thing was the lack of enough effective instruments to carry out such vast expanses of work. The Army had got some machinery to remove the trees, but there were not sufficient equipment. And because it was the same scene at several places, it took a lot of time to clear the roads.
Each column of the Army consists of 35 men, but that too seemed to be insufficient owing to the massive wreckage caused by the storm. Hence, the railway, port and other private sectors were also requested to send teams and tools, to help in the recovery process. The North and South 24 Parganas were hard hit too, so some columns of soldiers had to be deployed there as well. There were reports of 86 deaths in the state even after the state government had exercised evacuation as precautionary measures.
However, the wise call of the Chief Minister of ‘unified command mode’ around the clock had worked well. The joint efforts of the Indian Army, railways and the others, led to successful clearance of the roads, restoration of electricity and drinking water. The citizens could now breathe a sigh of relief and were thankful to the Indian Army once again for offering their strong support during testing times.
© Arked