Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday commenced her visit to disaster-hit areas in north Bengal, announcing Rs 1.2 lakh for those whose houses have been affected, and awards for personnel involved in relief operations.
At least 32 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in floods and landslides due to heavy rain in the northern districts of West Bengal earlier this month.
She also reiterated her announcement of Rs 5 lakh ex gratia for the next of kin of those killed in the disaster and home guard jobs for one person from each family.
Speaking to reporters at Kolkata airport before embarking on the visit, which will continue till Friday, Banerjee said she would first visit Hasimara in Alipurduar district for a high-level review meeting with officials to assess ongoing relief and rehabilitation operations.
She will stay the night at Hasimara and on Monday, she would visit Nagrakata and nearby areas, followed by Mirik in Darjeeling hills.
Banerjee said she will then proceed to Darjeeling town, from where she would also review the relief operations in Kalimpong as well. She would return to Kolkata on Friday to inaugurate Kali Puja celebrations.
The CM praised the dedication of administrative officials overseeing relief work and reiterated the government's commitment to prompt assistance and infrastructure restoration.
"Work at the Rohini landslide site is expected to be completed in five to six days, while the temporary bridge in Mirik is expected to be ready in seven to eight days," she said.
The CM also highlighted the 'Amader Para Amader Samadhan' (APAS) programme, aimed at providing financial assistance to disaster-affected residents.
Under APAS, Rs 10 lakh has been allocated per booth, with a total outlay of Rs 8,000 crore. So far, 28,300 of 31,700 targeted booth-wise camps have been completed, covering nearly 90 per cent of the planned outreach. The programme has covered 2.5 crore people, she said.
Since October 4, heavy rain in north Bengal has triggered landslides and floods, leaving at least 32 people dead and thousands homeless. Unconfirmed initial reports indicate that around 12,000 houses were damaged, with nearly 6,000 completely collapsed. Relief camps have been set up in multiple areas, and road connectivity has been restored in most disrupted locations.
Banerjee was in north Bengal for four days since October 5 to oversee the relief work.
Opposition parties have criticised the CM's visits, alleging they are leisure trips aimed at gaining political mileage.
Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, shared a video alleging that police were busy arranging party flags instead of relief work. Senior CPI(M) leader Biman Bose attributed the scale of the disaster to "unregulated construction" in the hills.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.