PM Modi announces Rs 1000-cr interim aid for Bengal

TIL Desk/National/Kolkata/ Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces advance interim assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for cyclone-hit West Bengal.

The death toll from cyclone Amphan in West Bengal rose to 77 on Friday, as disaster management and civil authorities scrambled to restore normal life and Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew down to the state capital and conducted an aerial survey with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Five more bodies were recovered from different parts of West Bengal since Thursday night, raising the death toll in the state to 77, officials said. Modi and Banerjee will also undertake an aerial survey of the cyclone-ravaged areas.

At the review meeting with the prime minister, Banerjee will likely seek an economic package for the state and reaffirm her demand that the cyclone be declared a national disaster.