Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi who visited Odisha and West Bengal to review the situation arising out of Cyclone Yaas and undertook an aerial survey of the cyclone affected areas in Bhadrak and Balasore districts of Odisha, and Purba Medinipur in West Bengal, announced a financial assistance of Rs 1000 crore for immediate relief activities.
The Prime Minister said Rs. 500 crore would be immediately given to Odisha. Another Rs 500 crores has been announced for West Bengal and Jharkhand, which will be released on the basis of the damage. He announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 to the seriously injured in the cyclone.
In Bhubaneswar, the Prime Minister chaired a meeting to review the relief and rehabilitation measures being undertaken. He was briefed that maximum damage due to Cyclone Yaas happened in Odisha, and some parts of West Bengal and Jharkhand have also been affected.
The Union Government will deploy an inter-ministerial team to visit the states to assess the extent of damage, based on which further assistance will be given, the Prime Minister said.
PM Modi appreciated the preparedness and disaster management activities by the Government of Odisha which has resulted in minimal loss of lives. He also noted that the state has embarked on long term mitigation efforts for dealing with such natural disasters. He also mentioned that Disaster Mitigation has been given emphasis by the Finance Commission too by provisioning for mitigation funds to the tune of Rs. 30,000 crore.
– global bihari bureau
