Although considerably weakened to turn into a depression by the time Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall in Gujarat's Saurashtra coast on Tuesday, strong winds blowing at 80 - 90 kmph speeds, accompanied by heavy rainfall, affected normal life in the western state.
Oil majors and energy companies said preparations to meet any eventuality resulting in the big storm's aftermath have so far enabled them to avert any severe contingencies.
One of India's leading oil gas leaders, state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd BPCL said its officials were in constant touch with district-level authorities in Gujarat to monitor the situation.
We would like to ensure you that BPCL s 1,251 fuel stations are stocked up with petrol and diesel to serve the motoring public, a company official told BT.
The Indian-Russian JV Nayara Energy, which operates a large refinery in the Vadinar township of the Dwarka district in the state, told state news agency that they had taken proper precautions for the well-being of their employees and contract workers.
The port authority has suspended all marine activities and vessel berthing until June 16, and the next berthing is expected on June 17 evening. The Indian Railways has halted all rail movements until June 16. Overall, crude throughput reduction of about 80 kilotonnes is expected, a company spokeswoman said.
However, they said, that port and rail operations were likely to resume by June 17, noting any concerns regarding production or intermediate ullage.
Tata Power, the country s largest integrated power company, has said that while maintaining the supply of uninterrupted electricity during the storm, ensuring the safety of workers working at the company s Mundra plant remained its top priority.
All necessary measures have been implemented related to our employees, families, and contractors' safety and welfare. Our Mundra plant is operating in the midst of the cyclone and delivering power to our consumers with limited employees at the site. We are in constant touch with the local authorities and are adherent to all the safety guidelines, the company said in a statement.
Even as the world's fourth-largest rail transporter, Indian Railways has discontinued several trains as a precautionary measure, it continues to monitor the situation from a war room set up at the Ministry of Railways headquarters in New Delhi.
A total of 99 trains have been cancelled, and 39 trains have been short-terminated and 38 trains have been short-originated, according to Western Railway chief public relations officer Sumit Thakur.
Sources at Mumbai's world s busiest single runway airport, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport CSMIA, which had proactively completed runway repair and maintenance work and conducted critical checks nearly two weeks ago, said flight operations overall were normal.
This is particularly significant because CSMIA has strong connectivity with all civilian airports located in areas of Gujarat where the cyclone made landfall and, therefore, must be fully prepared for any exigencies at this point.
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