Announcing that as per initial estimate the cyclone Yaas has caused damage worth Rs 15,000 crore in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that she would hold a review meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the devastation caused by the storm during his visit to the state on May 28. She said that the meeting will be held at Kalaikunda in the East Medinipur district.
“The prime minister will hold a review meeting with me at Kalaikunda. He will be coming to Bengal after surveying cyclone-affected areas in Odisha. He will arrive at Kalaikunda via Digha and fly to Delhi from there,” said Mamata while speaking to reporters at the State Secretariat.
Mamata said that the state government has allotted Rs 1,000 crore to provide aid to people affected by the cyclone at their doorsteps under the ‘Duare Tran’ (aid at doorstep) scheme. The scheme will start from June 3 and continue till June 18.
“The state government will hold camps in every village in affected areas where people can apply for compensation. The applications will be scrutinised from June 19 to June 30 and from July 1 the compensation will be directly credited to their bank accounts,” said Mamata.
Also read — West Bengal extends Covid-19 curbs till June 15
Meanwhile, the state government extended the lockdown-like restrictions till June 15 to curb the spread of Covid-19. The chief minister said that the earlier restrictions will continue to be in force. The earlier order regarding restrictions was till May 30.
“We are not calling this a lockdown. We term this as a restriction. The earlier restrictions will continue. The timing of opening and closing of shops and markets will remain the same. Only the allowed workforce in the jute mills has been increased from 30 per cent to 40 pe cent,” said Mamata. She also said that essential services will continue as per protocol.