Central team takes stock of Amphan damage

SUNDERBANS: A devastated primary school building, its roof blown away by the cyclone, at Madhabnagar caught the eye of a three-member Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) that was on a visit to the Sunderbans on Friday to assess Amphan damage.
The team took note of the destruction all around, including village huts that bore the imprint of the cyclone a fortnight after it made landfall in the Sunderbans on May 20.
Split into two groups and armed with a Sunderbans map, the IMCT visited worst-hit areas spread over South and North 24 Parganas, talked to locals about relief and restoration and asked them about their most urgent need. The members also experienced the unpredictable riverine stretch at Ramganga Bharani in South 24 Parganas where low tide hindered movement of their motorised vessel.
Led by ministry of home affairs joint secretary Anuj Sharma, the IMCT reached Patharpratima College Grounds by helicopter around 10.30am and met district magistrate P Ulganathan and others for over an hour to chalk out its route.
The team’s first stop was Uttar Gopalnagar, where much of the embankments had been washed away, flooding farmlands. The members reached out to residents rendered homeless.
Another IMCT team visited worst-hit areas at Sandeshkhali and Minakha near Basirhat in North 24 Parganas. They took the Bidyadhari and Kalagachhi river route and inspected the damage to Sarberia, Bhanrakhali, Nazat, Dhamakhali and Baunia villages in Sandeshkhali blocks 1 and 2. District magistrate Chaitali Chakraborty and other Bengal officials accompanied the team.
The IMCT will take stock of the damage in Kolkata before meeting chief secretary Rajiva Sinha on Saturday.