PM announces Rs 1,500 crore relief for Amphan-hit Bengal, Odisha
PM Narendra Modi announced Rs 1,500 crore for the relief and rehabilitation of people affected by Cyclone Amphan in West Bengal and Odisha, and assured the states of more support after conducting separate aerial surveys.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 1,500 crore for the relief and rehabilitation of people affected by Cyclone Amphan in West Bengal and Odisha, and assured the states of more support after conducting separate aerial surveys with chief ministers Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik on Friday.
West Bengal is fighting well, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) quoted Modi as saying in a series of tweets, which also underscored the fact that the state is faced with the two-pronged challenge of fighting the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and rebuilding areas battered by the cyclone. Modi’s remarks were seen as praise for Banerjee, one of his staunchest critics.
“The government of India will work shoulder-to-shoulder with the state administration. We are announcing the release of an advance assistance fund of Rs 1,000 crore,” Modi said in Hindi after a review meeting in Basirhat in North 24 Parganas. Later, he announced immediate assistance of Rs 500 crore for Odisha.
Cyclone Amphan, the most severe storm in the Bay of Bengal since the super cyclone of 1999, has left a trail of destruction and damage in the two states. It made landfall around 20km east of Sagar Island in the Sunderbans on Wednesday afternoon, packing winds gusting to a top speed of 185 kilometres per hour, cutting off road links, snapping telecommunications, leaving parts of West Bengal without electricity, and inundating coastal hamlets. It killed about 80 people in West Bengal and at least two in Odisha.
It was around 11am that Modi reached the Kolkata airport, where he was received by Banerjee and governor Jagdeep Dhankar on the first leg of his day-long tour. Differences took a back seat when Modi and Banerjee, fierce opponents on two sides of the political spectrum, boarded a helicopter to survey the worst-hit areas of North and South 24 Parganas districts. Accompanying them was Dhankar, whose endorsement of central policies has time and again put him in the crosshairs of the ruling Trinamool Congress.
“At times we have to move beyond politics, attend to constitutional obligations and work together as state and central governments. We have to maintain that relationship. We have to follow the federal structure,” Banerjee said before the arrival of Modi.
“While we have received reports of 80 deaths; 60 million people in the state have been directly affected. This (cyclone) has done more damage than any other natural disaster,” she said.
At the review meeting with Banerjee in Basirhat after the survey, Modi declared that Rs 2 lakh each will be given to families of the deceased from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund. Those injured will get Rs 50,000 each.
“We all want West Bengal to move ahead. Centre will always stand with West Bengal in these testing times,” the PMO quoted Modi as saying. “We are battling a pandemic on one hand and there is a cyclone situation in some parts. Dealing with the pandemic requires social distancing whereas battling the cyclone requires people to move to safer areas,” the PMO said in another tweet. “Despite these contradictions, West Bengal is fighting well…”
Banerjee said her state suffered losses of more than Rs 1 lakh crore due to the storm that has left tens of thousands homeless. “Most of the areas we surveyed were totally ravaged. I have briefed the Prime Minister in detail about the post-cyclone situation in the state,” she told reporters at the airport after seeing off Modi.
Banerjee said she “reminded the Prime Minister about Rs 53,000 crore the central government owes to the state for various social security schemes”. “If they (Centre) give some money to us, we can work,” she said.
Dhankar, who donated Rs 50 lakh to the chief minister’s relief fund, welcomed the “atmosphere of cooperation”. “I see light at the end of the tunnel. I am sure that when the central team comes for inspection (of the post-cyclone situation) it will be received with a red carpet,” he said in the evening.
In Odisha too, Modi conducted an aerial survey after holding a review meeting with governor Ganeshi Lal and CM Patnaik, and announced the Rs 500-crore package for the state. In addition to that, Modi said, further assistance will be provided for long-term rehabilitation measures after the Centre receives a detailed report.
“Everyone is fighting Covid-19. In such a time, we had a super cyclone in some parts of India. This became very worrying. At the same time, due to the well-established processes in Odisha, many lives were saved. I congratulate the people and Government of Odisha,” the PMO tweeted Modi as saying.
According to the preliminary estimates by Odisha, the storm affected 4.4 million people and over 100,000 hectares of farmland in the state.
Separately, president Ram Nath Kovind spoke to Banerjee and Patnaik, and assured them that the nation stands united in supporting their affected people.
On Friday, the air force said it modified aircraft/helicopters for relief operations and is on standby. It said its crisis management cell is coordinating with the civil administration and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams on the ground.