PM Modi to survey Cyclone Amphan-hit areas of West Bengal & Odisha; here's his schedule

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning emplaned in Delhi to travel to West Bengal and Odisha to take stock of the situation in the wake of Cyclone Amphan wreaking havoc in the two states. According to Republic TV sources, PM Modi is scheduled to arrive at Kolkata airport at 10:45 am from where he will fly in a helicopter to conduct an aerial survey. Sources add that PM Modi will be accompanied by West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.

PM Modi to chair two review meetings

At around 11:30 am, PM Modi will attend a meeting at Basirhat along with state officials after which he will leave once more for Kolkata airport. Sources say that PM Modi will arrive at Bhubaneswar Airport around 3 pm from where he will conduct an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas in a MI-17 helicopter. PM will take part in another review meeting in the capital city of Odisha and will return to Delhi by 8:30 pm.

Cyclone Amphan has left 72 people dead and thousands homeless in West Bengal, battering several parts of the state and washing away bridges and swamping low-lying areas. It also wreaked havoc in Odisha damaging power and telecom infrastructure in several coastal districts.

The extremely severe cyclonic storm has weakened and moved to Bangladesh, the IMD said. This will be the Prime Minister's first visit outside the national capital after coronavirus lockdown was imposed on the midnight of March 24. His last tour was to Prayagraj and Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh on February 29.

'Efforts are on to ensure normalcy'

In a series of tweets on Thursday, PM Modi said no stone will be left unturned in helping those affected by Cyclone Amphan. "Have been seeing visuals from West Bengal on the devastation caused by Cyclone Amphan," the Prime Minister tweeted. National Disaster Response Force teams are working in the cyclone-affected parts, he pointed out.

"Top officials are closely monitoring the situation and also working in close coordination with the West Bengal government. No stone will be left unturned in helping the affected," he said.

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(With PTI inputs)