On Friday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kalaikunda, and submitted a preliminary report on damages caused by Cyclone Yaas. CM Banerjee skipped the review meeting with PM. On this, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar criticized Ms.Banerjee for skipping review meet with Modi. Dhankar stated, “It would have served interests of state and its people for CM and officials to attend Review Meet by PM. Confrontational stance ill serves interests of State or democracy.”

PM Modi announced a financial assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for immediate relief activities. Out of the total mount, Rs 500 crore would be immediately disbursed to Odisha. Another Rs 500 crore was announced for West Bengal and Jharkhand. It will be released on the basis of the damage.

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Officials said that CM Banerjee conducted an aerial survey of cyclone-hit areas in North 24 Parganas district. They further said that alongwith Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, CM Banerjee took stock of the situation in Hingalganj, Hasnabad, Sandeshkhali, Pinakha and other areas of the district. CM Banerjee said, “I have seen that most of the areas have been inundated. Houses and large tracts of agricultural fields are under water. A field survey will also be conducted.”

There was a review meeting held by PM Modi with the CM of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneshwar. It was about discussing the impacts of the

cyclone.Also Read: Yaas makes landfall with windspeed at around 140 kmph; seawater enters several villages in Odisha

Odisha’s government demanded long-term solutions to mitigate problems caused by the repeated cyclones during the meeting. It also asked for provisions of disaster-resilient power systems. Odisha’s Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Jena said that the state government sought no immediate funds to tackle the expenditure incurred in disaster management.

On the other hand, Mamata Banerjee sought a Rs 20,000-crore package for redevelopment of the worst-affected areas. She claimed that the state has incurred a loss of Rs 20,000 crore due to the cyclone. Following an administrative meeting held in the tourist town of Digha, CM Banerjee stated, “We have sought a package of Rs 10,000 crore each for the redevelopment of Digha and the Sunderbans.  It could well be that we might not get anything.”