Cyclone Amphan: Both Modi And Mamata Need To Be Applauded
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2020-05-22 20:28:49
About the Author
Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to be applauded for showing urgency in understanding the gravity of the destruction caused by Cyclone Amphan in West Bengal and Odisha and visiting the two states so fast to get a first-hand glimpse of the ravaged countryside, towns and cities. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had invited him to visit the state and for once, the Prime Minister chose to not let politics play a dampener. Modi visited both the states on Friday within 36 hours of the calamity. After making an aerial survey, Modi held a meeting with Banerjee and announced an interim package of Rs 1000 crore (the final package will be decided after detailed assessment) for West Bengal, along with an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakhs for the family of those who lost their lives and Rs 50000 for the injured. Odisha was granted Rs 500 crore and similar ex-gratia payments.
It is to the credit of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) that it predicted the path, ferocity and duration of the cyclone with an accuracy seldom seen. In fact, it has been reported that when an agitated Odisha official called the IMD with a plea to recheck the data as some foreign agency had reported that Cyclone Amphan was changing route and was likely to hit Odisha, the IMD did the calculations once again and stuck to its original predictions. Their accuracy has helped both West Bengal and Odisha to minimize the loss of lives.
The Centre must also be complimented on the way it kept a strict watch on the situation with both the Prime Minister and Home Minister Amit Shah getting involved. Shah spoke to the chief ministers of both the states and assured all help. Many teams of NDRF were rushed to the two states and they are doing exemplary work (of course they are trained for it and are expected to do the same) in helping local administrations cope up with the fallout.
The damage in West Bengal is extensive and it will take weeks before normalcy is restored. Large parts of West Bengal, including many areas of Kolkata, are still without electricity, mobile services and broadband internet. But the state chief minister Mamata Banerjee has shown exemplary leadership in personally monitoring the preparedness and the fallout from the war room at Nabanna, the state secretariat. That the cyclone came when the state was firming up its fight against Covid-19 was an additional worry.
As the state prepares to restart economic activity after the lockdown (it had already permitted stand-alone shops of all kinds to reopen on May 21 but not many opened due to the disruption caused by Cyclone Amphan), allow auto-rickshaws to run from May 27 and prepare for the influx of people due to trains and flights starting again, the cyclone has added to the woes. In between, there is the Id festival. It is a time when both the administration and the people will have to take all necessary precautions to prevent Covid-19 from spreading in the community.
