Cyclone Amphan LIVE: Men salvage items from a damaged shop after Cyclone Amphan made its landfall, in South 24 Parganas district in the eastern state of West Bengal. (Reuters)
Cyclone Amphan, Weather forecast Today Live Updates: The Odisha government Saturday said it would send 500 personnel from the state’s disaster rapid action force and fire service to assist in restoration operations in cyclone-ravaged West Bengal. Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep Jena said the ODRAF and fire service personnel would soon start proceeding with required equipment to the neighbouring state on Sunday.
In response to West Bengal government’s request seeking support, Indian Army Saturday sent three columns of troops to assist the Kolkata City Civil Administration in the in post-cyclone restoration work. “Based on request from the Govt of West Bengal, Indian Army has provided three columns to assist the Kolkata City Civil Administration in the aftermath of Cyclone Amphan,” Army said in a statement.
Apart from the Army, the state government also sought teams from railways and port for restoring essential infrastructure and services in the areas ravaged by Cyclone Amphan. It also urged private entities to provide manpower and equipment for the purpose. In a series of tweets, the department said, “GOWB mobilises maximum strength in unified command mode on 24×7basis for immediate restoration of essential infrastructure and services asap. Army support has been called for; NDRF and SDRF teams deployed; Rlys, Port & private sector too requested to supply teams and equipment.”
Cyclone Amphan LIVE: Over 5,000 trees, hundreds of lamp posts and traffic signals were uprooted. (Twitter/NDRF)
Odisha Fire Services personnel proceed to West Bengal for assisting in road clearance, tree cutting & other restoration related activities: Pradeep Jena, Special Relief Commissioner, Odisha.
The Odisha government on Saturday said it will send 500 personnel from the state's disaster rapid action force and fire service to assist in relief and rescue operations in cyclone-ravaged West Bengal. Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Pradeep Jena said the ODRAF and fire service personnel will soon start proceeding with necessary equipment to the neighbouring state from Sunday.
NDRF carries out restoration work at Uluberia, Howrah, West Bengal.
The iconic Eden Gardens was spared from the fury of Cyclone Amphan that ravaged the city, leaving only some minor damages to the stadium. The pitch and the outfield areas remained totally unaffected from the Amphan, one of the worst cyclones to hit the city in decades. 'Looking at the disaster that has taken place, it's natural for some damage to have occurred. But, prima facie, we don't think there's any major damage to the Eden. That said we cannot take any chances,' CAB President Avishek Dalmiya said. (PTI)
After protests in several cyclone-affected areas of West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday urged people to have patience as the administration was working tirelessly to restore water and power supply. She also denounced the "negative campaigning" against her government, saying "this is not the time to do politics".
The chief minister conducted an aerial survey of the worst affected regions of South 24 Parganas district for the second consecutive day, after accompanying Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday. "We are facing four challenges at a time, COVID-19, lockdown, issues related to migrant labourers and now the cyclonic disaster," she said. (PTI)
Protests continued in several areas of Kolkata on Saturday as parts of the metropolis remained without water and power since cyclone Amphan ravaged the city. From Behala in the south to Belgharia in the north, armed with placards, people blocked roads with empty buckets and utensils.Protests were also reported from Sapuipara and Pallishree areas in Jadavpur, Garfa, besides Narkeldanga and Telangabagan.The protesters, many of whom were women, said they are under extreme hardship as there was no electricity and water for the past three days and repeated calls to power utilities CESC and WBSEDCL went unanswered. (PTI)
Ten fresh teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were also rushed to the state in order to ramp up the relief and rescue operations, the Ministry of Home Affairs notified. The officials said the additional teams of the federal contingency force were sent following a written request from West Bengal's Principal Secretary Disaster Management and Civil Defence seeking deployment of additional teams in the state. "Ten additional teams have been mobilised and are being rushed at the earliest from NDRF locations outside West Bengal. Teams are likely to reach Kolkata by late night Saturday," news agency quoted an NDRF spokesperson as saying.
In response to West Bengal government’s request seeking support, Indian Army Saturday sent three columns of troops to assist the Kolkata City Civil Administration in the in post-cyclone restoration work. “Based on request from the Govt of West Bengal, Indian Army has provided three columns to assist the Kolkata City Civil Administration in the aftermath of Cyclone Amphan,” Army said in a statement.
NDRF continues restoration work in Howrah district of West Bengal.
10 additional NDRFteams deployed in West Bengal for post-cyclone management.
Pronab Biswas, a resident of Kakdwip in Sundarbans, was happy that his only son — a migrant labourer -- had returned from Maharashtra last week and had planned to buy a dinghy to start a fishing business of his own. But the 50-year-old's plans were blown away on Wednesday by Cyclone Amphan as their home and cattle got swept away and they lost all their lifelong savings. Biswas, who has a family of six to feed, now plans to accompany his son back to Maharashtra in search of livelihood once the coronavirus lockdown is over. West Bengal Sundarbans Affairs Minister Manturam Pakhira said the region had suffered losses worth thousands of crores and everything had to be rebuilt from scratch.
Embankments in the Sundarban delta -- a UNESCO world heritage site -- were breached as the surge whipped up by the Amphan inundated several kilometres of the islands. "With the infrastructure badly hit, it will take a heavy toll on the livelihood of the people there," Sugata Hazra, director, school of oceanographic sciences at Jadavpur University, told PTI. "In months to come, all of us will witness huge migration from the Sundarbans region. Whatever was rebuilt after Cyclone Aila, everything has been lost due to Cyclone Amphan," Hazra said. (PTI)
The Bengal government said multiple departments are at work to cut and remove the trees that had fallen during Cyclone Amphan. "Drinking water and drainage infrastructure getting restored fast. PHE asked to supply water pouches in gap pockets. Generators being hired where necessary. More than a hundred teams from multiple departments and bodies working for cutting of fallen trees which is the key to restoration of power in localities. WBSEDCL & CESC asked to deploy maximal manpower, even while lockdown significantly affects the deployment potential of the latter. Police on high alert," Bengal's home department tweeted.
The Home Department of West Bengal Saturday said the government has asked for Army support to restore essential infrastructure of the state that has been in shambles since the Cyclone Amphan wreaked havoc there. In a series of tweets the department said, "GOWB mobilizes maximum strength in unified command mode on 24×7basis for immediate restoration of essential infrastructure and services asap. Army support has been called for;NDRF and SDRF teams deployed; Rlys,Port & private sector too requested to supply teams and equipment."
The extent of destruction Cyclone Amohan left in Bangladesh.
NDMA asks people to stay away from flooded areas
After Tripura CM Biplab Deb extends support, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik thanks him
Indian Youth Congress has come forward to serve and provide relief to states affected by Cyclone Amphan.
We are proud to announce that the Indian Youth Congress is combining efforts with @ProfCong to serve and provide relief to the states affected by #CycloneAmphan.
The fencing that separates the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve from the area habitated by humans was destroyed in at least three places as cyclone Amphan ravaged West Bengal. However, there was no incident of any tiger straying into the localities, a top forest department official said. The control rooms in Gosaba in South 24 Parganas district and Salt Lake have not received any incident of tigers or other wild animals straying into the adjacent villages in the past three days, Chief Wildlife Warden Ravikant Sinha told PTI.
Over 600 in Assam have been affected in the first floods of the season following continuous rainfall and the release of dam water. According to a bulletin issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) on Friday evening, 630 people in two villages of the Kalgachia revenue circle in Barpeta district were affected. “The rain [following Cyclone Amphan] has aided the floods but another reason is the release of water from the Kurichu dam in Bhutan,” said Pankaj Chakrabarty, state project coordinator, ASDMA.
An official from the ASDMA said that this was the ‘first instance’ of floods this season, and not necessarily a ‘wave’. “As a result of the rains, the Beki river water levels have risen and low lying areas near the river have been affected,” said the official, adding that the people have not been required to be shifted to relief camps yet. Read full story here
"We are doing whatever possible to restore electricity. Cyclone Amphan was a disaster. It is not the right time to do politics. We have spoken to Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC) for restoration. I would like to request people to have patience," says West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.