Cyclone Fani: BJP leader Sambit Patra prays to Lord Jagannath for protection against storm
Odisha BJP leader Sambit Patra has posted a message on Twitter invoking the spiritual protection of Lord Jagannath against the force and fury of Cyclone Fani, which made landfall in Puri today with wind speeds in excess of 175 km per hour.
The BJP leader, who contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from the storm-hit Puri constituency earlier said "we are doing everything for the people of Odisha" and added his prayer to Lord Jagannath to that list today.
His first message, posted when Fani made landfall, read, "The process of landfall of #CycloneFani has begun... extremely high speed wind... heavy rain... the harrowing sound... reminds me of 1999 Supercyclone. With folded hands I pray to Lord Almighty Jagannath ji to give us the strength to endure this".
Fani, believed to be the strongest cyclonic storm to hit the state since the 1999 Super Cyclone that killed nearly 10,000 people, has already forced the closure of airports in Bhubaneswar and Kolkata in addition to the evacuation of over 14 lakh people and the cancellation of nearly 150 trains.
Mr Patra also wrote: "Everything is flying in (the) air... have literally turned deaf because of wind sound... all window panes broken... difficult indeed... if this is my condition in a concrete building I pray for the lives of millions".
The Indian Meteorological Department believes Fani is likely to weaken over the next few hours with wind speeds between 150 and 160 km per hour. It will move in a north-northeast direction and become a severe cyclonic storm over the extreme northern part of Odisha.
Puri voted on April 23, during the third phase of the ongoing general election, contesting against the Biju Janata Dal's Pinaki Misra (who holds the seat currently) and Satya Prakash Nayak of the Congress.
Election results will be declared on May 23.