Home Minister Amit Shah held talks with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the wake of the super cyclone Amphan in the Bay of Bengal. He has assured the Chief Ministers of both the states that the Center is committed to helping the state and teams of NDRF have already been deployed. The Center is ready for any assistance required by the state. The news agency ANI has given information quoting sources from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
At the same time, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba will preside over the meeting of the National Crisis Monitoring Committee (NCMC) at 12.00 noon today to take stock of the preparedness in Odisha and West Bengal in view of dealing with the super cyclone. Apart from the readiness of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) and the Defence Forces, the Departments of Power and Telecommunications have been instructed to be prepared to deal with any emergency situation.
This is the second super cyclone in the Bay of Bengal in two decades. The cyclone is likely to hit Digha in West Bengal and Hatia Island in Bangladesh in the afternoon of 20 May. During this time the wind speed is estimated to be 195 km per hour. The government said it is likely to cause widespread damage in coastal districts of West Bengal and Odisha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the situation arising out of the cyclone on Monday and the central government assured all possible assistance.
