INDIAN authorities began evacuating thousands of people from coastal areas in two states on Monday (24) as a powerful cyclone bore down on the country's east coast, complicating efforts to control the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cyclone Yaas, the second storm to hit the country in a week, is set to turn into a "very severe cyclonic storm" with wind speeds of up to 110 miles per hour (177 kph), the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The storm, brewing in the Bay of Bengal, will likely come ashore near the border between Odisha and West Bengal states early on Wednesday, accompanied by storm surge of around four metres (13 ft) that could reach up to 7 km (4 miles) inland, according to the IMD.
"Our target is to ensure that not a single life is lost," said Bankim Hazra, a minister in West Bengal state, where more than 1,500 people have already been evacuated from a low-lying island.
In Odisha, state authorities were aiming to complete all evacuations by Tuesday afternoon, including moving around 6,500 pregnant women into hospitals, senior official Pradeep Jena said.
The cyclone is likely to compound problems for state authorities already dealing with a spike in Covid-19 infections that has put health infrastructure under severe strain.
Hospitals had been provided with power back-up, along with buffer stocks of oxygen and medicines, said Rajendra Singh, a member of the National Disaster Management Authority.
The National Disaster Response Force has already deployed nearly 100 teams and armed forces have been asked to remain on stand-by to assist with rescue and relief operations, Singh said.
Odisha and West Bengal have suspended fishing and marine work till Wednesday, while ports on the east coast have also restricted activities..
Last week, Cyclone Tauktae, the most powerful cyclone to hit India's west cost in more than two decades, barrelled inland killing more than 150 people and leaving a trail of destruction.
A former Hertfordshire officer resigned before his misconduct ruling
‘Former Hertfordshire police officer made racist slurs against Asians'
A FORMER Hertfordshire police officer made racist comments to colleagues on multiple occasions, a misconduct panel has found.
PC Oliver Gobey, who resigned as an officer on the morning of the misconduct hearing, directed racist comments at people of Asian descent on two separate occasions.
In the first incident, he directed a “racially motivated” comment at a police sergeant to suggest they had been recruited after 9/11 because they were Asian.
Gobey was immediately challenged by PC Wallace, an “experienced officer” who had been a tutor constable for twenty years.
In a second incident, Gobey was in a police vehicle in Hitchin town centre with three colleagues. A man of Asian descent and his friends approached the officers and spoke to Wallace. The man said he was from Birmingham and asked for recommendations on places to visit.
After the man had walked away, Gobey said: “Or you have come down here to escape the honour-based violence you have caused.”Gobey was again challenged by Wallace. Gobey denied making the racist comments, but the panel concluded on the balance of probabilities that both incidents had taken place.
The panel’s report said: “They were discriminatory comments and they were his own. They were unprovoked. No one encouraged him.”
The panel also concluded that Gobey “chose to lie” about a business interest. He repeatedly failed to submit a proper application to continue part-time work for a private ambulance service and voluntary work for St John Ambulance, but continued with the latter regardless.
He also told a supervisor his business interest application had been successful, when it had not been.
In a fourth incident, Gobey “deliberately typed in random numbers” when assigned to work in the Resource Management Unit (RMU).
His figures, which were found to be wrong, came after Gobey “gave the impression to his colleagues that the work in RMY was ‘beneath’ him”.
While working there, he was heard “swearing about the work”. He was “short-tempered and ‘snappy’.” The panel’s report said: “The compilation of the figures … were far from being a simple administrative matter.
“It was essential operational information required by senior officers to decide how scarce resources would be deployed in the coming days.”
The panel found all the allegations against Gobey to be proven on the balance of probabilities, and concluded that they amounted to “serious gross misconduct” that would have led to him being sacked without notice if he had not resigned. He has also been added to the College of Policing barred list.
(Local Democracy Reporting Service)