By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on Friday afternoon visited Odisha to take stock of the situation in the wake of Cyclone Amphan. He was accompanied on the visit by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Ministers of State Babul Supriyo, Pratap Chandra Sarangi and Debasree Chaudhuri. Accompanied by the Governor of Odisha,Ganeshi Lal, and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Prime Minister conducted an aerial survey of Bhadrak and Balasore to assess the impact of the cyclone.
After the aerial survey, Prime Minister chaired a meeting in Bhubaneshwar with the senior State and Central Government functionaries to review the situation. He announced a financial assistance of Rs. 500 crore to the State of Odisha, pending the assessment of the damage by an Inter-Ministerial Central Team.
Prime Minister gave his assurance that the Union Government would work shoulder to shoulder with the State Governments at this difficult time and give all possible assistance for restoration and rebuilding of infrastructure in the areas affected by the cyclone.
Expressing solidarity with the people of Odisha and deep sorrow for the lives lost, Prime Minister 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 the State.
The world is fighting a war to save lives from the corona virus on one side. In the hour of such a crisis – be it the central government or the state governments – all the departments and all the citizens have been engaged in the fight against corona virus for the last two-and-a-half months.
At such a time, another major crisis in the form of a Cyclone – a Super-Cyclone – was a matter of great concern, he said.
How much damage would it cause to Odisha while moving towards Bengal also remained a matter of concern! Odisha has been able to achieve a great success in saving the lives of the citizens here with the help of the arrangements that have been institutionalized here and with the knowledge of what should be done by the citizens in the villages. And many congratulations to the citizens of Odisha, the administration and the Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Babu and his entire team, he said.
But when such a big natural disaster comes, then there is an extensive loss of property. The loss in Odisha has not been much as compared to that of West Bengal, but even while crossing the state it has left its trail. It is such a crisis. And so I have fully reviewed the damage that has been caused to the housing, agriculture, power, communication and infrastructure today. The state government has also placed all the preliminary details in front of me.
The central Government will soon receive the report from the state government after assessment. A central government team will also reach here at the earliest and after reviewing the whole situation, work and help related to long-term relief, restoration and rehabilitation would be provided. The work will be carried forward, giving priority to all these things.
But keeping in mind the immediate needs, we have decided to give 500 crore rupees as an advance arrangement on behalf of the Government of India. And once the rest of the requirements are completed and the complete planning for rehabilitation is in place, the Government of India will work shoulder to shoulder with the State government in the journey of development in Odisha and help the State to come out of this crisis, the PM added.
