West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee today apprehended that impending Cyclone Yaas will be more severe than last year’s Amphan with its impact persisting for 72 hours and complained to Union home minister Amit Shah against lesser financial assistance for the cyclone being sanctioned to West Bengal than both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

Addressing a Press conference at Nabanna, Miss Banerjee said she questioned Mr Shah as to why Rs 400 crore of cyclone assistance was allotted to Bengal compared to Rs 600 crore to Odisha and Andhra Pradesh at the meeting earlier.

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“Mr Shah said the decision depended on science. I understand the political science behind it but don’t know this science,” she said.

Deliberating on the impact of Cyclone Yaas, Miss Banerjee said it will affect all the 20 districts of West Bengal. State government has targeted evacuating around 10 lakh people from areas having high risk of devastation.

The chief minister will stay back at Upanna, an annex building of Nabanna, which will serve as the control room for cyclone Yaas, on 25 May to monitor the situation for 48 hours. The Army, NDRF and SDRF have been put on alert.

Fifty one disaster management teams are ready. Power backup facilities have been arranged at hospitals and vaccination centres. Miss Banerjee said that sufficient relief materials have been stocked up and 4,000 cyclone centres have been set up.

State agriculture department has announced compensation for farmers if their crops are damaged due to the cyclone. Farmers will receive compensation of Rs 13,500/hectare if their crops are damaged on multi-crop plots.

For single-crop plot, the compensation is Rs 6,800/ hectare and for betel leaf vine damage, the amount is 18,000/hectare.