Cyclone Amphan: Prime Minister Modi makes aerial tour of affected areas in West Bengal, Rs 1000 relief package announced

Kolkata, West Bengal, May 22, 2020: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today visited the areas affected by cyclone Amphan in West Bengal. He was accompanied by Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee. After this, the Prime Minister announced a thousand crore rupees help to the state.
PM Modi said in the press conference that the state and central government made efforts to minimize the damage from the cyclone. Despite this, the lives of 80 people could not be saved. We are sad about this. We are with those who lost their loved ones in this hour of crisis. Agriculture, power sector and trade also suffered losses. People’s homes are damaged. Our job now is to help them. Governments will provide all possible help for this.

Prime Minister Modi further said that under the leadership of Mamta Banerjee the Government of India has tried to work together. Today is a matter of pride for the country. It is the birth anniversary of Raja Ram Mohan Roy. During this period, being in Bengal is something that touches my mind. In this hour of crisis, I would only say that Raja Ram Mohan Roy should bless us so that we can work together. I assure the Government of Bengal that the whole country is with you at the time of crisis. I have come to meet everyone in this hour, but due to Coronavirus pandemic, I am not able to meet all the citizens. I am going to Odisha from here. One thousand crore rupees are being provided immediately for Bengal.

Cyclone Amphan which rose from the Bay of Bengal has devastated West Bengal-Odisha and moved towards Bangladesh. Due to this, heavy rains will continue in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya till Friday. Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee said that the death toll in the state has reached 80.
Kolkata recorded 220 mm of rain in two hours between 8 am and 12 pm on Wednesday night. Many areas were flooded. Due to more damage than anticipated in the storm, an additional four teams of NDRF were sent to Kolkata. There are already 41 teams in Bengal. Apart from these, teams of Army, Navy and Air Force are also engaged in rescue operations. Meanwhile, Bengal and Odisha had already evacuated 7 lakh, people, to safe places. 5 lakh people have been evacuated from coastal areas in Bengal. In Bengal, 7 districts including Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly have been badly affected.

Mamta Banerjee had on Thursday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come to West Bengal to witness the devastation. He said that I have not seen such devastation till today. The Chief Minister had also said that the state suffered a loss of one lakh crore rupees due to the cyclone. South 24 Parganas district was the worst affected. Many recently built buildings were destroyed here. In other areas, including Kolkata, telephone and Internet lines were damaged, besides electricity and cable poles. More than 12 hundred mobile towers were damaged. The network is at a standstill in many areas.

Strongest storm of 283 years: Amphan was the strongest cyclone in Bengal for 283 years. Three lakhs were killed in 1737 from the Great Bengal Cyclone. On the other hand, super cyclone came in Odisha in 1999, in which 10,000 people died.