Gujarat on high alert for Cyclone Nilofer, says Jamnagar collector

 Jamnagar collector and district magistrate Nalin Upadhyay on Monday confirmed that the state was on high alert after reports emerged of a cyclone heading towards Gujarat. "We have received reports from the Indian Meteorological Department that the deep depression in the Arabian Sea has converted into a cyclone and under the moniker 'Nilofer' is heading towards Gujarat. The entire state is on high alert. A control room has been formed at the district headquarters," Upadhyay told ANI.

"Our first measure was to deal with the storm was to recall all fishermen who are out on the sea," he added. Meanwhile, the fishermen who did return are praying that the storm passes over without doing much damage. "We were heading out to open sea when we the government conveyed the message that a storm is brewing, so our fleet of four to five boats returned to port. We had only been fishing for a few days before we had to return, our fishing incomplete. We can only hope that the cyclone does not damage our livelihood," Kadar, a fisherman, told ANI.

Earlier on Monday, Gujarat Meteorological Department Director Manorama Mohanty said that the storm is situated around 1180 kilometres southwest of Gujarat and will hit the coast of the state on October 31. "Under the influence of the cyclone, we are expecting bad weather on October 30 and 31 and heavy rains over Saurashtra and Kutch. The sea will be rough to very rough," she said. Cyclone Nilofer is the second large cyclonic storm to approach the Indian landmass this month, after Cyclone Hudhud struck the coast of Andhra Pradesh on October 12.