Treat Amphan as a national disaster: Mamata Banerjee to PM

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare Cyclone Amphan as national disaster. She made the request at the Kolkata airport while receiving PM Modi when he landed in West Bengal to assess the damage caused by the cyclone. He conducted an aerial survey of the affected areas accompanied by Banerjee.

Banerjee earlier said that one thousand crore rupees had been set aside for repair work of the areas affected by the cyclone. Eighty people have been killed in the state.

PM Modi said India stands in support of the state which is reeling under the losses. He announced a 1,000 crore rupees “advance interim assistance” for the state.

Rs. 1,000 crore advance assurance will be given to West Bengal. All aspects relating to rehabilitation, reconstruction will be addressed. We all want West Bengal to move ahead. The centre will always stand with West Bengal in these testing times. We will work together to ensure that Bengal stands on its feet again. – Prime Minister Narendra Modi

PM Modi also announced two lakh rupees each for the families of those who died in the cyclone in Bengal and 50,000 rupees for the injured. “I am here to assure everyone in Bengal that in this time of crisis you will find the central government fully there standing beside you shoulder to shoulder,” he said.

Amphan has left thousands of people homeless in West Bengal. Many bridges have been washed away. Two teams of the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) are in Kolkata to help with the relief and rescue work. After her meeting with PM Modi, Banerjee said West Bengal has suffered losses to the tune of one lakh crore rupees due to Cyclone Amphan. “In this hour of crisis, we all must work together. I have told PM Modi in detail about post-cyclone situation in Bengal,” she said.

The Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik spoke to Banerjee assuring her of all possible support.