First person account of the night Phailin pounded Gopalpur (Rahul Kanwal, Headlines Today)

Gopalpur-on-Sea (Berhampur, Odisha) on a normal day

Now I know what 'lull before the storm' literally means. At 10 pm on Saturday evening, the howling winds and incessant rains lashing Gopalpur suddenly ceased. It seemed the worst was over. Cyclone Phailin had made land fall along the coast of Orissa in Gopalpur around 9:15 pm. For 45 minutes after the cyclone first struck, the wind Gods seemed to have gone crazy, blowing uncontrollably in all directions.

We were perched on a balcony, on the first floor, in a multi-storey building about 25 meters off the beach front of Gopalpur, a popular beach side resort town in Orissa, located about three hours from Bhubaneshwar. This was ground zero for Cylone Phailin, the deadliest storm to have hit India in the last decade and a half. The hotels in the area had all been ordered shut by the district administration, and the local fishermen living in hatched huts had been put up in a cyclone evacuation centre established at a Government run school located on a small hill away from the sea. We were the only journalists left reporting from the eye of the storm.

The other crews had moved away to the nearest town of Behrampur. At 10 pm, we were on Aajtak decribing the sudden silence around us. The winds and rain that had been pounding Gopalpur through the day had vanished. A few youngsters ventured out. They were whistling, singing and dancing. They seemed to be mocking the cyclone and had declared victory.

Then all of a sudden, just as unpredictably as it had ceased, the tempest was back. Twice as agressive, twice as deadly. It was the cyclone's turn to mock the hapless inhabitants of Gopalpur. Dogs in the area started barking in tandem. Children were wailing. The youngsters ran in back to save their lives. Our most reliable companion, the mobile network, crashed. The glass panes of our window were smashed. Water started lashing into our room. There was no where to hide. We went into the kitchen. But that wasn't much respite. The glass panes there too broke. Then the roof started leaking. The cyclone was closing in at us from all sides.

Soon the water was coming upto our knees. Our equipment, our clothes all got drenched. We had no where to go, no where to hide. I sat down on the bed behind the window, hoping to stay away from the fury of the winds and rain that was pounding  our room. But the pressure of the water was too fast. It was difficult to sit still. So we went into the dining room and stood in the only dry part of the house. There we huddled for two hours while the cyclone wrecked havoc outside.

Our thoughts were with our OB engineer, Ritesh, who had been inside the OB van at 10 pm, helping us broadcast live from Gopalpur. The winds had struck with such ferocity and with such little notice, that Ritesh was unable to come out of the van. His Tata-407 was exposed to the full force of the cyclone and was being pushed around like a toy.

As the minutes passed, our concern increased. Ritesh was not still back and there was no news from him. Around 3 hours after Phailin made land fall, we heard our door being banged from outside. First we thought it was the cyclone, but when the knocking got louder, we opened the door. It was Ritesh, who had somehow stormed out of the van and made his way to the building. Antennas were strewn around the pathway as also glass shards from broken windows as Ritesh ran back in.

Ritesh was screaming like a man possessed. Widly describing his experience of being tossed around by winds blowing at faster than 200 kilometers per hour. There was no God he did not remember in the first two minutes of entering the flat.

Huddled in a corner, the night went by slowly. The minutes seemed than on any other other night in my life. It was still raining hard, when day broke the next morning. We ventured out to do a spot check at the fishermen's enclave nearby. A few villagers were milling around assessing the damage to a life time's savings. Relief and fear writ on the faces, relived at having survived but worried about piecing their lives back again.

Source: India Today

Phailin batters Berhampur

Source: The Hindu (Severe cyclonic storm Phailin on Saturday struck the Odisha coast, bringing in its wake torrential rains and wind speeds of over 200 kmph in the State and in north coastal Andhra Pradesh. Darkness enveloped the coastal districts of Odisha, especially Ganjam, whose Gopalpur-on-sea was the entry point for the storm, which uprooted trees and electric poles).

The cyclonic storm, Phailin, crossed the Odisha coast near Gopalpur, 12 km from Berhampur city, on Saturday night after causing widespread devastation in the and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. Experts had even compared Phailin with hurricane Katrina, which devastated the U.S. in 2005. The India Meteorological Department said the cyclone made its landfall with a wind speed of 200 km per hour. L.S. Rathore, IMD Director-General (meteorology), reiterated that it was not a super cyclone and the intensity was found to be of level 6. The eye of the cyclone was estimated to be 15 km in spread. Coastal town Berhampur, which bore the brunt of the storm, experienced heavy rains for a brief while, from 9 p.m. at the time of the landfall. Two persons died in Ganjam district, crushed under tress that fell in the impact of high speed winds.

Coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh, barring Srikakulam and north coastal districts, escaped cyclone fury. Heavy rains lashed Srikakulam district, uprooting electric poles and trees and plunging large areas into darkness. Twelve towns in the coastal districts of Odisha plunged into darkness as power had been switched off since morning. They were Ganjam, Gajapati, Khurda, Nayagarh, Puri, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jagatsingh, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore and Mayurbhanj. Officials in Odisha said the extent of damage is much less than feared. Much to their relief, rains subsided and wind speeds reduced to 100-120 kmph at 9.30 p.m. However, the speed picked up to 200 kmph around 10 p.m. There was no information on damage to property and lives and it can only be assessed by Sunday afternoon, according to Amitabh Thakur, DIG of Police, Berhampur. Relief teams from the Army, the Navy and the Air Force are on standby. All shops, hotels, ATMs and other public facilities remained shut as there was no power in the district. The communication network was hit. Several trees and electric poles were damaged.

Earlier, heavy rain, with wind speeds reaching 120-150 kmph, triggered devastation. Fallen trees, uprooted electric poles and broken walls could be seen at various places in Berhampur. Walls of the City Women’s College and the SBI main branch were broken. Durga mandaps put up as part of Dasara festivities collapsed near the Old Bus Stand and Khollikote College. The Rushikulya and the Bahuda rivers were in spate as the government directed officials to undertake relief and rescue operations on a war-footing. An estimated 1.40 lakh people had been evacuated from low-lying areas to cyclone shelters and relief camps. Fishermen and locals had been forcibly shifted to the relief camps. Hundreds of fishermen from Gopalpur, Baxipalli, Venkatapur, Haripur, Bandar and other hamlets were provided accommodation at cyclone shelters and relief camps. As per IMD data, rainfall received in Bhubaneswar from 8.30 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. was 130 mm, while Gopalpur received 78 mm and Puri 81 mm.

Source: The Hindu

Cyclone Phailin set to hit Gopalpur-Berhampur coast in Odisha at a wind speed of 210-220 kmph tomorrow: Administration on tenterhooks

Cyclone Phailin has been predicted to move northwestwards and cross north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha close to Gopalpur-Berhampur coast (Odisha) by Saturday evening as a very severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 205-215 km per hour (kmph), the met department has said. "The very severe cyclonic storm, Phailin, over east central Bay of Bengal moved west-northwestwards with a speed of 15 kmph and lay centred about 520km south-southeast of Paradip, 530km from Gopalpur and 530km east-southeast of Kalingapatnam," the met department said in its latest bulletin. Squally winds speed reaching 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph would commence along Odisha coast from Friday morning. It would increase in intensity with gale wind speed reaching 205-215 kmph along and off coastal districts of south Odisha at the time of landfall. State of the sea along and off Odisha coast will be rough to very rough from Friday morning and will become phenomenal on October 12. The cyclonic storm, Phailin, over east central Bay of Bengal moved westwards and intensified further and lay centred at 230 am on Friday near latitude 15.50N and longitude 89.000E, about 590km south-southeast of Paradip and 600km southeast of Gopalpur.

Similarly, though the met department forecast a storm surge of 1.5 metre to 2 metre in Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts in the coast on Thursday, on Friday it said the storm surge height will be around 2 metre to 2.5 metre above astronomical tide. This would inundate low lying areas of Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur in Odisha. A worried state government held several meetings and took stock of the situation in the changed circumstances. The state government has already asked the district authorities to start evacuation of people living in low lying areas close to the sea. Fearing high tide, the seaside hotels have been instructed to cancel their bookings. The possibility of a cyclone has prompted the twin city commensurate police to asses safety measures at large puja mandaps and tableaux made of bamboo, wood and other heavy materials.

'Not less than a super cyclone'

Cyclone Phailin with a windspeed of 220 kmph is turning into a super cyclone before making landfall on Saturday evening near Gopalpur in Odisha where the government has galvanised its machinery to deal with its impact and is evacuating people from low-lying areas. “The U.S. Navy has also forecast that the wind speed will be above 240 kmph. Therefore, the cyclone is not less than any super cyclone for us,” Special Relief Commissioner P.K. Mohapatra said.

He said that though the IMD on Thursday indicated that the wind speed would be limited to 185 kmph, it was now forecasting it at 220 kmph. Mr. Mohapatra said the IMD had declared the 1999 calamity as a super cyclone as the wind speed had crossed 220 kmph. “This time around, the wind speed is not much different than the previous super cyclone,” he said. Squalls with a wind speed of 45-55 kmph to 65 kmph have already started along Odisha coast since morning. “It would increase in intensity with gale wind speeds reaching 210-220 kmph along and off south Odisha at the time of landfall,” the IMD said in a bulletin categorised as an Orange Message.

It would make landfall near Gopalpur in Ganjam district on Saturday evening after crossing an area between Paradip in Odisha and Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The IMD said the cyclone over east central Bay of Bengal remained stationary and lay 520 km south-southeast of Paradip and 530 km southeast of Gopalpur. The IMD forecast a storm surge of 2.5 meter to 3.0 meter in Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts. A storm surge is a rise of the sea as a result of atmospheric pressure changes and winds associated with a storm.

Local Cautionary (LC-III) has been hoisted in all the ports in the State.The Navy, the Air Force, the National Disaster Response Force and the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force were ready for relief and rescue operations as soon as the cyclone hits the coast, Mr. Mohapatra said. A worried State government held meetings and evaluated the changed circumstances. “At least 28 teams of the National Disaster Response Forces are at the disposal of the Odisha government for evacuation and relief operations,” a senior official said after one such meeting. So far eight teams of NDRF, reaching having 20 personnel, have been deployed in Puri district, the official said. Revenue and Disaster Management Minister S.N. Patro said district collectors have been told to complete evacuation of people by Friday evening. “We do not want to take any chance,” Mr. Patro said, adding that shelters were ready.

Source: Times of India, IBN Live, amp; IMD, The Pioneer &The Hindu

Destination Gopalpur still remains a pipe dream: OrissaPost

Source: OrissaPost

Navratri Puja drawns thousands to TaraTarini Hill Shrine near Berhampur city

Source: The Sambad

BMC gears up as cyclonic storm Phailin intensifies

Source: The Sambad

RSS volunteers take out march ahead of Bijaya Dasami in Berhampur

Source: OrissaPost

Durga Puja in Berhampur

Source: The Sambad

Student union elections conclude peacefully in Berhampur

Source: OrissaPost

Slum dwellers to get cheap houses in Berhampur

Source: OrissaPost

Protests against rail fare hike in Berhampur

Source: OrissaPost

Durga Puja Celebrations in Berhampur

Source: The Sambad

Chief Minister promises for comprehensive development of Berhampur city

Source: The Sambad

Growth of Berhampur city through the decades

Source: The Sambad

New mayor takes charge, and new promises follow for Berhampur

Source: The Sambad

Navratra and Durga puja in Berhampur

Source: The Sambad

Navaratri begins at Tara Tarini Shakti Peeth

Navratri is a festival dedicated to the worship of Goddess Maa Durga/ Shakti. The word Navaratri literally means nine nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshiped. Like in First Navratri – Shailputri, Second Navratri – Bhramcharini, Third Navratri – Chandraghanta, Fourth Navratri – Kushmanda, Fifth Navratri – Skandmata, Sixth Navratri – Kaatyayani, Seventh Navratri – Kaalratri, Eighth Navratri – Mahagauri and Ninth Navratri – Siddhiratri are worshipped. The tenth day is commonly celebrated as Vijayadashami or "Dussehra". 

Vijayadashami or Durga Puja is a festival, which is celebrated in different ways in India. In major Shakti Peethas like Kamakshya, Daksinakali, Bimala, Vaishnodevi, Chamundeswari and particularly in Adi Shakti Peeth of Maa Tara Tarini the Durga Puja is observed for 16 days, starting from Krushna Paksha Ashtami to Shukla Paksha Navami of the Hindu Calendar, also known as Shodasa Dinatmaka Upachara. Navaratri is the last nine days of Shodasa Puja.

Naveen Patnaik on foundation laying spree in Silk City Berhampur

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik laid foundation stones for a series of developmental projects during his first visit to the Silk city Berhampur on October 03 after the win of the ruling party Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.

The Chief Minister reached the city by helicopter and rushed from one foundation site to other during his long whirlwind tour. To add importance to his visit, State Ministers Surya Narayaan Patra, Debi Prasanna Mishra, Usha Devi, Berhampur MP Siddhant Mohapatra, Rajya Sabha MP Renbubala Pradhan, Berhampur MLA R.C.C. Patnaik, Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahy, newly-elected BJD Mayor K.Madhavi accompanied him during the foundation stone laying ceremonies.

The Chief Minister laid foundation stone for a heavy vehicle driving training institute to be established on Private Public Participation (PPP) mode at a cost of Rs.11 crore at Palur hills on the outskirts of the city. At Haldiapadar he laid foundation stone for a city bus depot and a modern bus terminal to be established at a cost of Rs. 11 crore.

He also laid the foundation stone for the much awaited comprehensive solid waste management project for the city, which is first of its kind in the State. This project would be taken up on PPP mode and would involve expenditure of around Rs. 70 crore.

The Chief Minister also laid foundation stone for the proposed Janhibili drinking water project which will be constructed with around Rs. 427 crore. Apart from Berhampur this project would also provide drinking water to other urban centers of Ganjam district like Aska and Hinjli as well as over 30 villages. As per the authorities this project has been taken up keeping in view the projected population of Berhampur in 2040.

He also laid foundation stone for widening and relaying of Lochapada-Nandika road. He inaugurated the memorial and statue for Sahid Laxman Nayak near Sahid Laxman Nayak community hall. It may be noted that this martyr had been hanged till death during British era in Berhampur circle jail.

Mr. Patnaik also laid foundation stones for three over bridge projects at goods shed road, Ankuli and Gopalpur road areas of the city to ease city traffic. These three over bridges would be built up at a cost of more than Rs. 150 crore. He also laid foundation stone for the new building for Berhampur Development Authority (BDA) to be built at a cost of Rs. 4 crore and the new building for the Berhampur ITI to be built with an expenditure of Rs. 7.27 crore. He also laid foundation stone for L.V.Prasad Eye Institute in Berhampur which will come up in 15 months.

At a function organised on the ITI campus, the Chief Minister distributed laptops to around 300 students of Ganjam district. Addressing the crowd, Mr Patnaik said overall economic growth along with development of every sector and community in the State was the aim of his government. He thanked the people of Berhampur for providing the BJD a majority in the newly elected BMC. It may be noted that during his campaign for the BMC polls, the Chief Minister had declared that if people of Berhampur elect BJD candidates in the BMC polls, then he would take charge of development of the city. Source: The Hindu

Berhampur city gearing up for the Durga Puja

Source: The Sambad

Berhampur city continues to face water crisis

Source: Pragativadi