PM declares Rs 1,500 cr initial aid for WB, Odisha
KOLKATA/BHUBANESWAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced an interim assistance of Rs 1,500 crore for West Bengal and Odisha after reviewing the situation caused by cyclone ‘Amphan’ that claimed 80 lives, lay waste to standing crops in thousands of hectares, and ruined infrastructure.
Modi reviewed the situation in West Bengal and Odisha with Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik, two days after the cyclone, the worst in years, devastated their states.
The Prime Minister announced an interim assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for West Bengal, already battling a surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths, besides an influx of migrant labourers, after a review meeting with Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and the state’s top officials. Banerjee, however, insisted that the state had sufferred losses of over Rs 1 lakh crore for which it needed to be compensated. The PM undertook an aerial survey of the vast swamp that many districts have turned into, after the cyclone dumped copious rain on Wednesday and the accompanying winds flattened homes, bludgeoned massive trees to the ground like matchsticks, and plunged city after city into darkness.
Modi also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the families of those killed and Rs 50,000 for the injured. He later flew to Odisha, where he announced financial assistance of Rs 500 crore.
KOLKATA Having onducted an aerial survey of cyclone-hit areas in West Bengal with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday contended that the calamity, which has left at least 80 dead, is “more than a national disaster”.
Banerjee said it will take time to restore normalcy, with cyclone ‘Amphan’ having ravaged at least seven to eight districts in Bengal, and adversely impacting 60 per cent of the State’s population. “This is more than a national disaster. I have not seen such devastation in my life. Sixty per cent of people have been affected in West Bengal. More than six crore have been directly affected,” Banerjee told reporters at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport where she had gone to receive Modi.
“It will take some time to restore normalcy... It’s a catastrophe... severe disaster. Our officials and ministers are all working. Police are also working tirelessly. We are fighting three challenges -- there is lockdown, then there is COVID-19, and now this disaster. The villages have been entirely devastated,” she noted.
Talking about the process of normalcy restoration in Bengal, Banerjee said the state has manpower and capacity to rise above the crisis.
Banerjee further said President Ram Nath Kovind called her to enquire about the situation in the State. “I sincerely thank the Honble President of India @rashtrapatibhvn Shri Ram Nath Kovind Ji, for personally calling me to convey his support and concerns for the people of Bengal in this unprecedented time of crisis because of the cyclone. We are extremely grateful, Sir,” she tweeted later in the day.
Banerjee noted that Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has also offered help.
“Dear @Naveen_Odisha Ji, extremely grateful for the kind words in these unprecedented times. As a fellow chief minister trying to restore the state post the cyclone, this is extremely warming,” the Chief Minister added.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday expressed solidarity with West Bengal and Odisha, and offered help to the chief ministers of the two States. In a tweet, Kejriwal said, “Dear @MamataOfficial didi, on behalf of the people of Delhi, I extend our full support and solidarity with you and the people of West Bengal in the wake of the destruction caused by #CycloneAmphan. Kindly let us know if we could help in any manner in this hour of crisis”.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government said on Friday that there has been no confirmation of any loss of human life in the state due to cyclone Amphan though it affected nearly 45 lakh people and damaged a large number of houses in the coastal districts.
Though there were reports of two cyclone-related deaths in Bhadrak and Kendrapara districts, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena claimed the causes were different.