Gandhinagar, Jun 1 (IANS): Following the warning by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) with regard to the cyclonic storm 'Nisarg' which is expected to hit some parts of Gujarat hard, the state government has put 6 districts on high alert.

The government has ordered people living in low lying areas of 159 villages on the coastal regions to be evacuated and shifted to safer places.

The weather office has predicted that the depression forming in the Arabian sea, named 'Nisarg' is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm and will hit southern parts of Saurashtra and South Gujarat. This storm is expected to make a landfall on the midnight of June 2 where winds up to 110-220 km per hour are likely to blow with thunders and very heavy rains.

Swinging into action, the Gujarat Disaster Management has identified coastal regions of the state where the storm is likely to make the most of the impact. Around 109 villages of South Gujarat's Surat, Navsari, Valsad and Dang districts and fifty villages of Amreli and Bhavnagar districts of Saurashtra are likely to be severely affected by the storm.

The state disaster management has put these areas on high alert and people in low lying areas in these coastal villages have been ordered to be shifted to safer places like schools and religious places. Ten teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in these regions and are in stand by position. The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams have also been presssed into service.

"Thunders and storms with heavy downpour is expected in Surat, Navsari, Valsad, Dang, Bhavnagar and Amreli districts of the state. We have placed these regions on a high alert mode. The Salt Pan workers in these areas have been shifted and orders are issued to evict the prawn cultivators in these regions to be shifted to safer places. We also warned and called back all the fishermen in these coastal areas to return to the shore. People living in low-lying areas have been ordered to be evacuated and shifted to safer places," said Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

The state disaster management is working in coordination with the local administration, the NDRF and SDRF. The electricity companies have been told to be on standby to prevent any power loss in these regions. The marketing yards across the state have been instructed to shift the grains and crops and other commodities lying out in the open to safer places to prevent damage.