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Rains and strong winds continued on Monday in several parts of Gangetic West Bengal even as Cyclone Remal weakened into a cyclonic storm.
The forecast on wind speed for the severe cyclonic storm, which made a landfall along the coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh around 9 pm on Sunday, was 110 km to 120 km per hour, gusting up to 135 km per hour. The maximum wind speed recorded in West Bengal was 91 km per hour at Dum Dum while Kolkata recorded 74 km per hour. In Bangladesh, it was closer to the forecast.
At least two persons were killed in West Bengal, and its coastal areas suffered extensive damage to infrastructure and property. Several parts of Kolkata were waterlogged and uprooted trees blocked roads hindering traffic flow.
In neighbouring Bangaldesh, at least seven people were killed and millions were left without power.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee posted on X that Cyclone Remal had caused a lot of damage, adding that the loss of lives was relatively less due to actions of the state administration.
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Distribution of compensation for the damage to crops and houses would be looked into once the election code of conduct was not in force.
Banerjee said that in spite of elections, the administration was prepared for the disaster. From the chief secretary to district and block administration, the Chief Minister said that everyone had stood by the people unitedly in dealing with disasters, and would continue to do so in the future
The West Bengal government had moved about 160,000 people in the coastal areas to shelter homes.
Official estimates of the extent of damage caused by Cyclone Remal have not been made public yet. But a PTI report said that nearly 15,000 houses in 24 blocks and 79 municipal wards, mostly in the southern coastal areas of West Bengal, were affected. At least 2,140 trees and 337 electric poles were uprooted in different parts of the state.
There was some semblance of normalcy as Kolkata airport resumed flight operations on Monday morning. The airport stated that its flight operations resumed at 8.59 am after they were shut for 21 hours.
Aviation industry sources estimate that around 325 flights were cancelled or postponed as a result of this 21-hour shutdown.
The Kolkata airport typically handles between 320-340 domestic flights and approximately 50 international flights daily, in addition to 20-30 unscheduled flights.
Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, which had suspended cargo and container handling operations on Sunday, resumed Monday afternoon.
Political wrangle
With less than a week to go for the final phase of elections, political wrangling over Cyclone Remal continued through the day as most of the nine seats going to polls on June 1 were affected by the calamity.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) questioned the absence of Mamata Banerjee from coastal West Bengal.
At a media briefing, BJP Chief Spokesperson in Bengal Samik Bhattacharya questioned the shifting of people in coastal areas arguing it should not happen in a civilised society, adding that the people should think about it this election.
Some leaders from the BJP and TMC were seen dipping their toes in the mud and water to ease the hardships faced by the people due to Cyclone Remal.
TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee cancelled his roadshow at Diamond Harbour.
The party said on X that since last night the national general secretary had been closely monitoring the situation. “He will be at his Amtala office from 5 pm today to oversee the relief efforts and ensure our party workers leave no stone unturned in providing assistance to the affected.”
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to visit Kolkata for a roadshow.
(Deepak Patel, Sanjeeb Mukherjee, Ishita Ayan Dutt contributed to the story)
