Amit Shah Dials WB, Odisha CMs As Cyclone Amphan Threatens The States

NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday spoke to chief ministers of West Bengal and Odisha -- Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik respectively -- and assured them of all possible help to deal with the situation arising out of the super cyclone ''Amphan''.

During the telephonic conversation with Banerjee, Shah took stock of the situation in West Bengal, where the cyclone is expected to make landfall on Wednesday.

The home minister assured the chief minister of all possible help to deal with the situation arising due to the cyclone ''Amphan'', a home ministry official told a news agency.

In his phone call with Patnaik, Shah reviewed the situation in Odisha and assured him of the necessary assistance from the central government to tide over the situation.

Cyclone "Amphan" developed into a super cyclone over the Bay of Bengal on Monday and has the potential to cause extensive damage in the coastal districts of West Bengal when it makes landfall. This is the second super cyclone over the Bay of Bengal in two decades.

The cyclone is expected to make landfall on the West Bengal coast in the afternoon of May 20 between Digha in West Bengal and Hatia island in Bangladesh as an extremely severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds ranging up to 195 kmph.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with the home minister, on Monday had reviewed the situation arising from the cyclone and assured of all possible assistance from the central government.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said it has enhanced its strength to a total of 37 teams, with the addition of 20 more, to combat the "dual challenge" of cyclone ''Amphan'' amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“We don’t want to take Amphan lightly as it’s only the second time that India is witnessing a super cyclone after 1999,” S N Pradhan, NDRF Director General had said. Twenty-one years ago, in 1999, another super cyclonic storm had ravaged large parts of Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal. It had taken Odisha, a number of months to repair the extensive damage that the Super Cyclone had caused back then.

Last year in May, major parts of Odisha were devastated by cyclone “Fani” (pronounce Phoni). The state had relocated over 11 lakh people across 13 districts to safety, earning praise for handling the crisis.

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