Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced overall financial assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for immediate relief activities for both the states. Of it, Rs 500 crore would be given as immediate assistance to Odisha.
Another Rs 500 crore has been announced for West Bengal and Jharkhand, which will be released on the basis of damage.
The Prime Minister also declared Rs 2 lakh ex gratia for the next of kin of deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured in the cyclone.
He undertook an aerial survey of the cyclone-affected areas in Bhadrak and Balasore districts of Odisha and Purba Medinipur in West Bengal.
He was briefed that maximum damage due to Cyclone Yaas happened in Odisha, and some parts of West Bengal and Jharkhand have also been affected.
The Centre will deploy an Inter-Ministerial Team to visit the states to assess the extent of damage, based on which further assistance will be given.
Prime Minister has assured the people of Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand that the Centre would closely work with the state governments at this difficult time, extend all possible assistance for restoration and rebuilding of the infrastructure in the affected areas.
It may be mentioned here that Odisha has not sought any immediate financial assistance from the Centre for the damage caused by very severe cyclonic storm Yaas, which hit the state on May 26.
The state government has sought assistance for long-term measures to make Odisha disaster resilient.
Also Read: Cyclone Yaas: Know Why Odisha CM Did Not Seek Immediate Financial Aid From Centre
Appreciating the preparedness and disaster management activities by Odisha government which has resulted in minimal loss of lives, Modi mentioned that Disaster Mitigation has been given emphasis by the Finance Commission too by provisioning for mitigation funds to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore.
