Kolkata: The death count in severe cyclone ‘Bulbul’ rose to 10 in West Bengal as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee conducted an aerial survey of the affected areas in South 24 Parganas district on Monday and later announced compensation of Rs 2,00,000 each to the families of those killed in the storm that pounded the state two days back.
Mamata Banerjee flew over the ‘Bulbul’-hit areas in Kakdweep, Namkhana and Bakkhali in a helicopter and later held an administrative meeting at Kakdweep where she announced formation of a task force headed by Chief Secretary Rajiv Sinha to supervise the relief and restoration work.
Banerjee underlined the immediate need to ensure clean drinking water and medicines were available in the affected areas and power supply restored. She appreciated the way the 24 Parganas (South) administration tackled the severe cyclone and ensured minimum losses and appealed to the people to ‘stay positive’.
“As per the latest reports, around six lakh people have been affected. The number could go up in the coming days as we get more reports,” Mamata Banerjee told reporters. “The way the district administration tackled the cyclone is praiseworthy. I don’t know what would have happened otherwise,” she added.
Meanwhile bodies of four out of the nine fishermen who went missing after their trawler capsized off Mousuni Island in West Bengal under the impact of Cyclone Bulbul were recovered in a joint operation by the Indian Coast Guard and the NDRF, a senior Coast Guard officer said Monday.
The trawler had capsized Saturday midnight 50 metres off the coast when it was caught in the severe cyclone which made its landfall between Sagar Island in South 24 Parganas and Khepupara in Bangladesh. The bodies were recovered after sustained hunt, Commander of Coast Guard, West Bengal and Deputy Inspector General SR Dash stated.
Dash said the search operation will resume Tuesday to locate the other missing fishermen who were onboard the trawler when it capsized off Mousani Island in South 24 Paraganas district.
Agencies
