New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an advance interim assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for West Bengal and Rs 500 crore for Odisha in the wake of cyclone Amphan. PM Modi made the announcements after aerial surveys of areas hit by the cyclone and holding review meetings with the chief ministers of Odisha and West Bengal.
The Prime Minister also announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the families of those killed during the devastation caused by the cyclone and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier asked the Prime Minister to visit the state and inspect the damage, which she claimed was in the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore.
Cyclone Amphan -- the fiercest in 283 years -- had pounded the North and South 24 Parganas and state capital Kolkata for more than four hours on Wednesday during landfall, uprooting trees, knocking down electricity poles, damaging buildings and killing 80 people.
The cyclone also caused widespread devastation in neighbouring Odisha, damaging power and telecom infrastructure in several coastal districts. Officials of the Odisha government estimated that it has affected around 44.8 lakh people in the state.
Here are the updates on Cyclone Amphan:
22 opposition parties call upon Centre to declare Cyclone Amphan as national calamity
Twenty-two opposition parties urged the Centre to immediately declare the devastation caused by Cyclone Amphan in Odisha and West Bengal as a national calamity and called for substantially helping the states in facing the impact of the disaster.
The leaders of the 22 parties, who met through video-conferencing, passed a resolution in this regard and said relief and rehabilitation should be the topmost priority at this juncture.
"We, the opposition parties extend our sympathy and support to the governments and people of West Bengal and Odisha in meeting the impact of the devastation caused by Cyclone Amphan," the resolution said.
It said a natural calamity like Cyclone Amphan has come as a double blow amid the coronavirus pandemic, breaking the spirits of people.