LIMPING BACK TO LIFE

CYCLONE AMPHAN HAS KNOCKED THE WIND OUT OF A STATE ADMINISTRATION ALREADY STRUGGLING TO COPE WITH THE COVID PANDEMIC

- Romita Datta

On the afternoon of May 20, Cyclone Amphan made landfall in West Bengal. By 5.30 pm, it was 70 kilometres south of Kolkata. By the time it crossed over into Bangladesh that night, it had carved a trail of destruction through the south and north-eastern parts of the state, lashing as many as eight districts with driving rain and gale-force winds of 110-165 kmph. In a terse press release issued earlier that day, the Union ministry of earth sciences had said it expected significant damage, including the total destruction of thatched houses and huts in the cyclone’s path, major damage to roadways, power and communications equipment and widespread damage to standing crops, plantations and orchards. Sadly, this was one of those times the weatherman got it dead right.

On May 21, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that “nearly 99 per cent of South 24 Parganas has been wiped out”. Three other districts—North 24 Parganas, Kolkata and Purba Medinipur—also suffered heavy damage, with Howrah and Hooghly badly affected as well. On May 22, in a presentation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief secretary Rajiva Sinha estimated that over 1 million huts had been destroyed, with perhaps 10 million farmers and fishermen severely hit. While detailed information is not yet available, the Banerjee government has estimated the economic toll at Rs 1 lakh crore.