PM Modi announces Rs 1000 Cr aid to WB; Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia for victims of Cyclone Amphan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi after conducting a review meeting in Basirhat with CM Mamata Banerjee, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and other state and PMO officials on Cyclone Amphan said that state and central governments stand with the people who have been affected by the cyclone which has left 80 people dead and thousands homeless. Accordingly, he made a number of relief announcements and assured more.

'Entire country stands with you'

PM Modi said, "In the month of May, the country was busy with elections and at that time we had to combat a cyclone that battered Odisha. Now, after a year, this cyclone has affected our coastal areas. People of West Bengal have been worst affected by it. State and central governments stand with the people who have been affected by Cyclone Amphan."  

PM Mod announced that the Central government will allocate Rs 1000 crore for advance immediate assistance of West Bengal and that the nation stands with people of the state. Rs. 2 lakh would be given to the next of kin of the persons deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the persons who got seriously injured, PM Modi added.

He also said that a team will be sent by the Central Government to conduct a detailed survey about the damage caused due to the Cyclone and the current situation of the affected areas. "All aspects relating to rehabilitation and reconstruction will be addressed. We all want West Bengal to move ahead," PM Modi said.

READ | PM Modi lands in Kolkata; boards chopper with CM Mamata Banerjee for Amphan survey; Watch

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

PM Modi reaches Kolkata

Earlier in the day, PM Modi arrived in West Bengal to review the situation arising out of Cyclone Amphan. He was accompanied on the visit by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Ministers of State Babul Supriyo, Pratap Chandra Sarangi and Debasree Chaudhuri. Accompanied by Governor of West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar and CM Mamata Banerjee, PM undertook an aerial survey of the cyclone affected districts of West Bengal.

Shortly before PM landed, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee confirmed that 80 people had died from Cyclone Amphan in the state, with 60% of the population impacted and 6 lakh people having been evacuated before it made landfall.

READ | PM Modi assures effort to ensure normalcy post-Cyclone Amphan's devastation in West Bengal

READ | PM Modi & WB CM Mamata Banerjee conduct aerial survey of Cyclone Amphan-hit areas; Watch