Trinamool Congress MPs, who will take oath as Union Ministers tomorrow in Delhi, will return to West Bengal to visit cyclone-ravaged districts, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said today.
"I had a talk with the prime minister. He informed me that new ministers will take oath tomorrow. I am going to Delhi for a day or two. Our (Trinamool) ministers will return here after taking oath and visit the affected districts," Mamata told a press conference here before leaving for the national capital.
Mamata said that she would request the Centre to provide more relief and air drop food and water packets as "the state government had totally failed to combat the natural disaster.
"The state government is not doing its duty, but we will not say that we will not do our duty. Due to our initiative, many lives were saved because of the deployment of army and BSF.
"They have no machinery to fight disasters. They should work to save the lives of people, instead of pretending to be working. Where was the government? Where was the emergency control room? After 72 hours, there is no drinking water, no electricity, how will the people survive? The Centre is giving all possible help.
"Our workers and the people can clear roads but we cannot provide electricity or water."
Mamata said that she would appeal to private power utility, CESC and the State Electricity Board, to work on an emergency basis to restore supplies.
Describing the situation as serious, she said that one lakh people were still stranded near Icchamati and Kalindi rivers in North 24 Parganas district.
Large-scale devastation had taken place in Gosaba, Canning, Kultali and Hingalganj in South 24 Parganas district. "Their immediate requirement is dry food, baby food, medicine, drinking water and bleaching powder," the minister said.
Thousands of people were still perched on thatched roofs at Gosaba and on open ground at Bamonghat in South 24 Parganas, while two blocks in the district were still inundated. Affected areas were also in East Midnapore, Hooghly and Howrah districts, Mamata said.
The minister said she had instructed Trinamool-run panchayats to speed up relief work for the affected people.
"Where was the disaster management, where was the power and the irrigation departments of the state government when the people were dying," she questioned.
Mamata said she would ask the Centre to formulate a master plan for flood control and river erosion. "But the money should not be given to the state government which will digest it, but through panchayats."
About the road blockades in the metropolis and adjoining areas by the people deprived of drinking water and electricity, Mamata said, "what will the people do if they don't get water and electricity even after 72 hours of the cyclone.
"The storm lasted only for a day. What would have happened if it had lasted for 48 hours?" she asked.
There was need to open relief centres at all blocks for a quick response to any natural calamity, Mamata added.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition and senior Trinamool Congress leader, Partha Chatterjee, said the state government neither had plan nor willpower to tackle the situation, which had aggravated the misery of the people.
"The swift action by the government that was needed was missing, while Mamata stood by the people and mobilised central assistance," he said.
The party would inform Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi of the prevailing situation in the state, Chatterjee said. "We will request him to take up the issue with the state government and expedite the relief work."
