`1,500cr aid to cyclone-hit WB, Odisha: PM
Not enough says Mamata, Amphan damage in West Bengal worth `1 lakh cr
Kolkata/Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced an interim assistance of `1,500 crore for West Bengal and Odisha after undertaking an aerial survey of the affected areas and reviewing the devastation caused by cyclone Amphan that claimed 80 lives, lay waste to standing crops in thousands of hectares, and ruined infrastructure.
Two days after the cyclone, the worst in years, devastated the two states, Mr Modi undertook an aerial survey of the vast swamp that many districts have turned into. Cyclone Amphan dumped copious rain on the two states on Wednesday and the accompanying winds flattened homes, bludgeoned massive trees to the ground like matchsticks, and plunged city after city into darkness.
After holding review meetings with the West Bengal and Odisha chief ministers separately, the Prime Minister announced the interim assistance. “I assure my brothers and sisters of West Bengal that the entire country stands with you in these difficult times,” Mr Modi said.
In Kolkata, after a review meeting with governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, CM Mamata Banerjee and the state’s top officials, he announced assistance of `1,000 crore for West Bengal which is already battling a surge in Covid19 cases and deaths.
Ms Banerjee, however, insisted that the damage caused by the cyclone was “much more than a national disaster” and that the state had suffered losses of over `1 lakh crore for which it needed to be compensated. At least 74 people have been killed in the state, of which 15 deaths were reported from Kolkata.
Most of the deaths were caused by trees falling on thatched houses, the collapse of parts of buildings due to the impact of the winds and rain, and electrocution, officials said.
In Kolkata, where about 10,000 trees were brought down by the storm that lasted several hours and brought extensive flooding, police were using drones to assess the damage. Large parts of the city were without electricity as water was still being pumped out of several areas. From Kolkata Mr Modi flew to Odisha where he announced a financial assistance of `500 crore after making an aerial survey of the affected districts with governor Ganeshi Lal and chief minister Naveen Patnaik. The PM complimented both the TMC government of West Bengal and the BJD dispensation in Odisha for squaring up to the challenge posed by the devastation that the cyclone had caused.
“Dealing with the Covid19 pandemic requires social distancing, whereas battling the cyclone entails moving people to safer places,” Mr Modi said. Mr Modi also announced an ex-gratia of `2 lakh to the families of each of those killed and `50,000 for the injured.