Port Blair, Mar 19 : The newly elected Chairperson of Port Blair M cipal Council, Kavitha Udhaya Kumar on Saturday took stock of the preparation of the Port Blair M cipal Council in view of the cyclone alert issued by the Indian Meteorological Department and the Andaman Nicobar Administration. As per the direction of the Secretary, Port Blair M cipal Council task force at various levels has been deputed and kept in alert. A control room has been made functional at Atlanta point wherein Building Officials and Draughtsman’s of the Council are deployed and the control room will be functional round the clock. Comm ty Halls of Dairy Farm, Haddo and Brookshabad will be opened for rehabilitation and all the caretakers will be present in these Comm ty halls round the clock. The Executive Engineer (Water Works) has been directed to ensure drinking water at these rehabilitation centres and other flood-affected areas. Teams consisting of 5 to 6 workers under the respective Assistant Engineer and Agriculture Officer have been prepared to help out during emergencies like earth sliding, waterlogging and trees branches clearance as early as possible. Further, a team under the Sanitary officer has also been constituted to attend to the complaints such as removal of the carcass of dead animals and removal of uprooted trees etc. A separate team has also been constituted under the Executive Engineer (E&M) to attend complaints received from the Public and its immediate redressal. The Civic Chief Kavitha Udhaya Kumar, further appealed to the public not to panic as the Port Blair M cipal Council is working round the clock in tandem with the A&N Administration to face any situation. She further appealed to the general public to be safe and avoid going near seashore areas and other unsafe places. Meanwhile, the Directorate of Shipping Services has cancelled the sailing schedule in Swaraj Dweep & Shaheed Dweep sectors for 20th to 22nd March 2022 has been cancelled. The Directorate of Shipping Services has also cancelled the sailing programme of M V Sindhu vessel from Port Blair to Chennai on 20.03.2022 has been cancelled. Meanwhile, as per the latest IMD forecast, the low-pressure area over southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining south the Andaman Sea & east Equatorial Indian Ocean moved east-northeast wards and lay as a well-marked low-pressure area over southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining south Andaman Sea at 0530 hours IST of today, the 19h March. It persisted over the same area at 0830 hours IST of today the 19h March. “It is likely to move nearly northwards along & off Andaman & Nicobar Islands, intensify into a depression by morning of 20th March and into a cyclonic storm on 21st March. Thereafter, it is likely to move nearly north-northeast wards and reach near north Myanmar – southeast Bangladesh coasts on 22nd March, 2022,” the forecast from IMD added. SKR RN