Prime Minister Modi reaches Kolkata, Mamata receives him at airport, heads for Basirhat

Responding to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's appeal to visit West Bengal which has been battered by Cyclone Amphan on Wednesday,  Narendra Modi is in the state  to take stock of the present situation.

He left for Basirhat with the CM to undertake a joint chopper survey of the cyclone-hit areas with Mamata Banerjee. They will hold a meeting in Basirhat. 

Cyclone Amphan on Wednesday pummelled the eastern state of West Bengal leaving scores of people dead, countless homeless, besides plunging large parts of the state without electricity, internet connections and other communications as the six-hour-long calamitous dance of the nature left even the city airport in disarray.

Modi earleir assured all help from centre for Bengal's recovery from the cyclone.

Ahead of her survey of Cyclone Amphan-hit areas with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Banerjee on Friday said the calamity was more than "national disaster".

"The cyclone has directly affected more than six crore people. It was more than a national disaster," said Banerjee at the Kolkata Airport.

"The challenge now is to rescue people and manage the situation. It was a severe and catastrophic disaster," said the CM and added, "We are facing three challenges- Covid, lockdown and now cyclone."

The PM is scheduled to visit Basirhat and undertake a joint chopper survey of the cyclone-hit areas with Banerjee. 

Banerjee said she will have a meeting with the PM at Basirhat.

"The meeting is a constitutional obligation. It is government-to-government meeting. We need to rise above politics now," said the CM.