Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said about 80 per cent of the essential services post-Cyclone Amphan have been restored in most urban areas and the rest would be revived shortly.
In a press note issued on Monday, she said: "I congratulate them for restoring 80% of the essential services post Bengal's grimmest disaster ever. Most urban areas have got back important services. Rest will be revived shortly."
She maintained that all the major hospitals, water treatment plants, water supply units, irrigation and drainage pumping facilities, power sub-stations have been made operational.
Cyclone Amphan with wind speed varying between 135 km per hour and 140km per hour had hit Bengal on Wednesday afternoon. As a result, nine districts, including South and North 24-Parganas, Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, East Burdwan, Hooghly, Nadia and East Midnapore had been badly hit affecting at least 1.36 crore people.
The cyclone had devastated Kolkata where around 5,500 trees were uprooted along with lamp posts and traffic signals. Vast areas of the city were inundated. The clearing operation began from Thursday morning and by Sunday all the arterial roads were unclogged. Traffic services became normal and electricity was restored in most of the areas.
The state government deployed 2,35,200 people to restore normalcy, including 1.25 lakh people who have been deployed by the state and city police comprising Home Guards, NVF, VPVs and CVs. The Public Health Engineering department set up 300 teams comprising 4,000 people to provide 500 water tankers and distributed 50 lakh pouches of drinking water each one containing 300 ml of water. The state Public Works Department deployed 1,500 people, including executive engineers, assistant engineers and junior engineers to repair the embankments that got damaged in the coastal areas. The state government had evacuated 6 lakh people from the coastal areas before the cyclone struck.
Banerjee said: "I salute lakhs of my state government employees and policemen who are working round-the-clock in the field (hand-in-hand with the personnel of the Army, NDRF, SDRF, Odisha government) earnestly to restore power, to bring back water supply, to cut trees on roads, to provide relief, to reconstruct infrastructure and to keep order and peace in vast areas."
However, there are some pockets where electricity has not yet been restored. There are areas like Parnashree, Baisnabghata-Patuli and Panchasayar where power is yet to be restored. Abhijit Ghosh, vice-president, distribution services, admitted that power in some pockets has not yet been restored but assured that things will improve by Tuesday.
Some areas in North and South 24-Parganas are still underwater after the embankments on Raimangal and Matla rivers developed breaches.
The cyclone has also devastated Chintamani Kar Wildlife sanctuary at Jharkhali. Forest department officials are providing relief to the affected people.