Cyclone:PM Modi to conduct aerial survey in Bengal ,Odisha tomorrow
KOLKATA/NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to West Bengal and Odisha on Friday to conduct an aerial survey of the damage caused by Cyclone Amphan, a government spokesperson said. He will conduct aerial surveys and take part in review meetings, where aspects of relief and rehabilitation will be discussed,” tweeted the Prime MInister’s office.
This will be PM Modi’s first visit anywhere since the first lockdown to halt the spread of coronavirus was put in place on March 25.
News of PM Modi’s decision came hours after Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee pitched for central assistance and appealed to PM Modi to visit the cyclone-hit areas. Bengal, which had moved out five lakh people to shield them from the cyclone that roared into the state on Wednesday, packing winds gusting to a top speed of 185 kmph.
2020 keeps getting bad to worse. Amid the coronavirus scare, West Bengal and Odisha were hit by bad Amphan Cyclone which has caused some serious damage in the two states. The Super Cyclone has caused damage to lives, houses and infrastructure. The cyclone has killed at least 72 persons and ravaged Kolkata and several parts of West Bengal.
It has destroyed thousands of homes and swamped low-lying areas of the state. She said the damage caused by Amphan is more than the coronavirus pandemic and has asked PM Modi to visit the affected districts and provide help to “rebuild those areas from scratch”.I would request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come and visit Cyclone Amphan-affected areas.
“I have asked the PM to visit Sunderbans. In this hour or crisis, let us work together… Amit Shah called me this afternoon and assured the centre will extend full help,” Ms Banerjee said. The PM has said the entire nation stands with Bengal and “no stone will be left unturned” to help those affected.
“In this challenging hour, the entire nation stands in solidarity with West Bengal. Praying for the well-being of the people of the state. Efforts are on to ensure normalcy,” the PM tweeted.
Ms Banerjee, saying that she had never seen a disaster of this magnitude before, announced Rs 2.5 lakh as compensation to the families of those killed in the cyclone.
Ms Banerjee said most of those killed died due to trees falling on them and electrocution. 15 of the 72 who died were from Kolkata. She had last evening claimed damages due to the cyclone could be in the region of Rs 1 lakh crore.
Strong winds with speed up to 125 kmph per hour upturned cars in Kolkata and left trees and electricity poles torn off and blocking roads. Portions of several battered buildings came crashing down in Kolkata. The Kolkata airport, which had been shut, was left flooded and many structures within damaged.
The cyclone also ripped through the coastal districts of North and South 24 Paraganas of Bengal with heavy rain and windstorm, blowing away thatched houses, uprooting trees, electric poles and flooding low lying areas. 5 lakh people had been evacuated, state authorities had not entirely anticipated the ferocity of the storm.
Cyclone Amphan is only the second “super cyclone” to form over the Bay of Bengal since records began, and the first since 1999. Odisha was hit by a super cyclone that left nearly 10,000 dead in 1999.
Meanwhile, National Disaster Response Force chief SD Pradhan told reporters that Odisha, which had also evacuated over 1.5 lakh people, wasn’t hit as badly as Bengal and would be back to normal in another two days or so.
(With Agency Inputs ).
