PM, Mamata Banerjee Meet Over Cyclone Aftermath, She Skips Review Meeting

Prime Minister Modi has already met Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik; the two met in Bhubaneswar, after which PM Modi conducted aerial surveys of affected areas

PM, Mamata Banerjee Meet Over Cyclone Aftermath, She Skips Review Meeting

PM Modi and Mamata Banerjee last met on January 23, at the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata (File)



New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a 15-minute meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Kalaikunda Air Base in Bengal’s West Midnapore district Friday to assess damages caused by Cyclone Yaas, which tore through the state and neighbouring Odisha earlier this week.

This was their first meeting since the April-May Assembly election that Ms Banerjee’s Trinamool swept – despite the opposition mounting a crass campaign fueled, in part, by the resignation of a large number of MPs, MLAs and ministers from the ruling party, several of whom joined the BJP.

“We will hand over a paper. Just for 15 minutes I will go. I will not be there for the review meeting. I will handover a paper with details of damages as far as we have gathered as of now,” Ms Banerjee said.

The last time they were face-to-face was on January 23 – at Kolkata’s Victoria Memorial to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

On that evening Ms Banerjee erupted in anger and walked off stage in a huff after her speech was interrupted with chants of “Jai Shri Ram.

Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who has a running feud with Ms Banerjee, and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who was Ms Banerjee’s trusted aide before jumping ship to the BJP, also attend the meeting.

The Prime Minister and Chief Minister are expected to take (individual) aerial surveys of regions affected by Cyclone Yaas, which caused havoc across South and North 24 Paraganas, Digha, East Medinipur and Nandigram districts of the state.

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Cyclone Yaas tore through Bengal and Odisha this week, causing damage worth thousands of crores 

Ms Banerjee has pegged the damage to her state at Rs 15,000 crore – including the destruction of three lakh houses and 134 embankments. She has already announced a rescue package of Rs 1,000 crore, and ordered officials to go door-to-door in their relief efforts.

The Prime Minister has already met Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik; the two met in Bhubaneswar this morning, after which PM Modi conducted an aerial survey of affected districts.

He issued a statement after his meeting with Mr Patnaik, in which he noted the effective role of central and states agencies in responding to the challenge posed by Yaas.

He advised all agencies to ensure the restoration of normal life in the affected areas as soon as possible and asked that relief material is disbursed to all persons affected by the cyclone.

Yaas made landfall on the north Odisha coast – about 20 km south of Balasore – on Wednesday with 130-140 km per hour winds and 150 km per hour gusts.

At least three people died as Yaas hit Odisha. A fourth person died in Bengal’s Digha town.

Over 100 NDRF teams have been deployed across both states to help in rescue and relief efforts.

With input from PTI


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