A mini bus is damaged after a huge tree got uprooted and fell on the bus owing to the heavy rainfall accompanied by the Super Cyclone Amphan, in Kolkata. Photograph: ANI Photo
New Delhi, May 22 (PTI): Ahead of conducting 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 wreaked havoc in the state and left at least 77 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. "This is a more than a national disaster. I have not seen such devastation in my life," 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 catastrophic disaster. Our officials and ministers are all working. Police are also working tirelessly. We are fighting three challenges there is lockdown going on, then there is COVID-19, and now this disaster. The villages have been entirely devastated," she said. The CM said that she will hold a meeting with Modi following the aerial survey. She also said that a map of the areas which will be surveyed has been prepared.
PM reaches Kolkata, aerial survey with CM next
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kolkata on Wednesday to take stock of the situation in West Bengal, which has been devastated by cyclone Amphan. Modi arrived at the Kolkata airport at 10.50 am and was received by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and senior state BJP leaders.
According to official sources, Banerjee will be first holding a short meeting with the prime minister, during which she would brief him about the ground situation.
"Later they would leave on a chopper for the aerial survey," an official said. The two leaders are also scheduled to hold review meeting on the post-cyclone situation.
"He will conduct aerial survey and take part in review meetings, where aspects of relief and rehabilitation will be discussed," the PMO said in a tweet on Thursday night.
According to TMC sources, the chief minister is likely to demand a financial package for the state. Banerjee has already demanded that the cyclone be declared as a national disaster. The cyclone has left 77 people dead in the state.
