West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee did an aerial survey of Namkhana and Bakkhali – in South 24 Parganas district – that has been most hit by cyclonic storm Bulbul. Ten persons have been killed in West Bengal due to the storm.
Banerjee cancelled her earlier scheduled trip to north Bengal and decided to address the immediate problems of the impact of the cyclone in the affected areas, on Monday and Tuesday.
On Monday, she also held an administrative meeting in Kakdwip to review the relief and rehabilitation measures for the cyclone-affected areas. On Tuesday, the CM will visit the cyclone-affected areas of Basirhat in North 24 Parganas. She handed over a cheque for Rs 2 lakh to the widow of a person who died in the cyclone. Banerjee instructed officers to ensure the relief operations and rebuilding houses take place on an urgent basis. Food and medicines have been asked to be distributed strictly after checking the expiry dates, she said at the meeting.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah took to Twitter to say that they have discussed the conditions of cyclone-affected areas with the West Bengal CM and have assured the state of every help needed to tackle the situation. Both have said that they are closely monitoring the situation of the storm-affected areas.
Banerjee was earlier scheduled to attend several programmes including Raas Mela and some party meetings in Cooch Behar.
During the time that the storm Bulbul made landfall in West Bengal on Saturday, Banerjee was herself present at the special 24-hour control room opened in the state administrative headquarters Nabanna, monitoring the situations closely. She left Nabanna after 11 pm. The CM also kept monitoring the damage caused and the relief and rescue measures being undertaken from her Kalighat home on Sunday.
