June 7, 2009

11-member Central team to assess cyclone Aila damage


KOLKATA,5th June: An eleven-member team of Central officials will be arriving in the city on Saturday to assess the damage caused by the storms brought about by cyclone Aila on May 25.

They visit the areas in West Bengal’s South and North 24 Parganas districts and the Darjeeling hills in groups. They will later hold meetings with the local administration and the State government, Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta said here on Thursday.

While the Army has been called in for the second time since the storms to assist in relief operations in the areas of South 24 Parganas worst hit by the disaster, the government has sought technical advice from it for restoration of the damaged embankments in the region.

Three boats of the Navy have been pressed into service to facilitate the sending of relief supplies to victims marooned in some of the affected areas, a Defence spokesperson said. Ten teams belonging to the Army had gone to the region to distribute food packets and water pouches. The death toll has mounted to 137.

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