Central government declares loss due to Cyclone Yaas: MHA to LS

New Delhi [India], August 4, (ANI): The Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs, has assessed the loss that occurred due to Cyclone Yaas in the affected areas of the Odisha and West Bengal states, informed the Ministry of Home to Lok Sabha in a written reply.

According to the data, Odisha lost three people in the cyclone; 18,094 houses were damaged and 72 cattle died. As many as 5672.99 hectares of cropped land were affected and 40 boats and 14 fishing nets were damaged.

In West Bengal, approximately 3 lakh houses were damaged, 11740 cattle died, 1,70,891 cropped areas were impacted and 4,353 boats and 18078 nets were damaged due to the cyclone, which had happened in May this year, said the ministry.

In Jharkhand, four people lost their lives due to the cyclone, 1,508 houses were damaged, three cattle were lost and 74.984 cultivated land were affected.

The details were furnished by the Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

The primary responsibility of disaster management rests with the State Governments. The State Government concerned, in the wake of a natural disaster, provides necessary relief to affected people, including farmers, from SDRF already placed at their disposal in accordance with Government of India approved items & norms. Additional financial assistance is provided from National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), as per laid down procedure in case of disaster of 'severe nature. In addition, farmers are entitled to compensation under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) of the Ministry of Agriculture, which is being implemented by the State Governments, informed the ministry.

In the aftermath of Cyclone 'Yaas', the government had released the additional financial assistance of Rs. 500 crore to Odisha, Rs. 300 crores to West Bengal and Rs. 200 crores to Jharkhand, in advance, from NDRF for management of relief necessitated by cyclonic storm 'Yaas'. Besides, the government has released the first instalment of the Central share of SDRF for 2021-22 amounting to Rs. 8873.60 crore on April 29 in advance to all States, including the cyclone-affected States. (ANI)