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Bengal

Ensure all benefits reach people, says Chief Minister

Kakdwip: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave direction on Saturday to ensure that no one should get deprived from getting relief materials, ration and benefits of various social schemes in the wake of devastation caused by cyclone Amphan.

"I will not tolerate any complaint in regards to distribution of primary relief and social schemes among beneficiaries. I will receive the report through the app and would take stringent measures if there is any complaint regarding distribution of social schemes. No Panchayat Samities should interfere in the same," said the Chief Minister while addressing a meeting at Kakdwip in South 24-Parganas. She held the meeting after taking aerial view of different affected areas including Sagar Island of the worst hit South 24-Parganas district. Banerjee on Saturday announced that she will be visiting some more districts in the next week.

Banerjee on Saturday held meeting with all MPs, MLAs, Director General of Police Virendra, District Magistrate P Ulganathan, concerned administrative and senior police officers. Banerjee said that Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee failed to come due to roadblock. But he informed that around 1.5 lakh houses were damaged only in Diamond Harbour and around 10 lakh houses were damaged in the entire district.

Stating that the devastation in the district is unimaginable, Banerjee have gave a detailed information about the damages caused in South 24-Parganas and also gave a guidelines to district

officers of each concerned departments as a roadmap to carry out the restoration work. She also directed the district authorities to ensure a proper co-ordination with the Central team that will come to survey the rampage. "We are leaving no stones unturned to restore normalcy at the earliest. But it cannot be done in a day's time. It took around one and a half months in Odisha to restore normal power supply after such severe

cyclone. Here it is just only two days. Firhad Hakim has not spelt for the past three nights working to ensure restoration at the earliest. But the work of CESC is not in our hand. It is a private company. It was handed over to private company by the Centre during Left regime. West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) has also removed

dismantled electrical posts. However, I have asked CESC authorities to engage 150 generators on temporary basis at the areas where power supply is yet to be restored," Banerjee said.

She added that she has also directed PHE authorities to install generator sets

wherever needed to ensure undisrupted supply of safe drinking water.

In the same breath, Banerjee directed the district authorities to engage local youths to support those are working under the 100 days work scheme to ensure fast removal of uprooted trees and other damaged structures.

Banerjee directed the

officers that there should not be any bad investment as each penny is important as the state's revenue has nosedived as already 600 crore has been spent only to procure equipments to fight

against COVID-19 and the state is at present fighting against the disease, lockdown, migrant workers and disaster. "There is no revenue generation for the past three months and the cyclone caused losses to a tune of Rs 1 lakh crore. The

Centre assured Rs 1000 crore as interim grant and the state government has also announced a financial package of the same amount to fight the post-cyclonic situation," Banerjee said.

She distributed cheques worth Rs 2.5 lakh each among family members of five people who died due to the cyclone.

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