Goa prepared for Cyclone Ashobaa: CM Laxmikant Parsekar

Panaji: As cyclone Ashobaa intensifies over the east central Arabian sea, 590 km off the coast of Mumbai, Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Monday said contingency plans were in place to handle the fallout of the storm.

Parsekar was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an education department event in Porvorim city, near the state capital.

Asked if the state administration was prepared for the cyclone, Parsekar said: "Yes, we are."

Parsekar however questioned the forecast by the Indian Meteorological Department which had said on Sunday that Goa was expected to witness heavy rainfall and severe winds as a result of the cyclone in about 24 hours.

"They were saying the same thing yesterday," Parsekar said, adding in a lighter vein that a cyclone could not hit Goa because it was a "pure land".