Centre rushes 10 more NDRF teams to cyclone Amphan-hit West Bengal

Ten fresh teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are being rushed to West Bengal in order to speed up the relief and rescue operations post cyclone 'Amphan', officials said on Saturday.

They said the additional teams of the federal contingency force were sent after a written request was received by the Union Home Ministry from West Bengal's Principal Secretary Disaster Management and Civil Defence seeking deployment of additional teams in the state.

"Ten additional teams have been mobilised and are being rushed at the earliest from NDRF locations outside West Bengal. Teams are likely to reach Kolkata by late night Saturday," an NDRF spokesperson said.

A total of 26 NDRF teams are deployed in six cyclone affected districts of West Bengal for restoration work at present and with the addition of the fresh ones the total number of teams will be 36.

The death toll due to the cyclone in West Bengal has risen to 85, as angry Kolkatans resorted to protest and road blockades in various parts of the city over the administration's failure to restore normalcy even after three days.

Lakhs of people were rendered homeless as cyclone Amphan wreaked havoc in half-a-dozen districts of the state on Wednesday, flattening houses, uprooting thousands of trees and swamping low-lying areas.

According to official sources, around 1.5 crore people of the state have been directly affected and more than 10 lakh houses destroyed due to the cyclone.