Modi announces Rs 1000 crore immediate aid for Cyclone Amphan recovery in Bengal

 After conducting an aerial survey of Cyclone Amphan-hit areas in West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reached Basirhat for an administrative meeting on Friday. The announcement was made there.

Modi and Banerjee held a meeting over the cyclone which has left at least 80 people dead in the state.

Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar was also present in the same chopper which was boarded by Modi and Banerjee from Kolkata.

The PM came to West Bengal after Banerjee appealed to Modi to visit the state to take stock of the situation.

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."

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.