Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, May 7, 2019: Heaping praise on Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his government for its massive evacuation drive ahead of cyclone Fani, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced additional central assistance of Rs 1000 crore for relief works in the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also conducted an aerial survey of cyclone-ravaged areas of Odisha and

He also promised a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured in the cyclonic storm.

Speaking to reporters Modi said, “The Patnaik-led government has done a commendable job in evacuating coastal areas to avoid loss of lives. A central team will be visiting the state soon to assess the extent of loss and damage”.

Leaving behind the bitterness all through the election campaign, Modi said, “In the past seven-eight days after the cyclone was forecast, there was perfect coordination between the Centre and the state. The communication was perfect. The state government was very proactive and responsive.”

The Centre had earlier released in advance Rs 381 crore for the state.

The cyclone left a trail of destruction in the state and left at least 38 dead and hundreds injured.

The state government, as part of its preparations to combat the cyclone, had shifted around 12 lakh people from the coastal areas to safer places.

The PM held a meeting with Patnaik, during which the CM sought a long-term package of Rs 17,000 crore from the Centre to set up disaster-resilient energy and housing infrastructure.

Natural disasters like Phailin (2013), Hudhud (2014), drought (2015), Titli (2018) and now Fani have affected the economy of the state. The state has to spend huge resources to tackle these disasters and on the restoration thereafter, which has resulted in negative economic growth. We could have grown better had there been no disasters. Keeping these in mind, the Centre should reconsider the state’s demand for a special tag,” Naveen said.

Underlining the need for coordination between the Centre and the states during times of crisis, the Prime Minister said a “long-term” plan will be prepared to deal with such disasters in future.

“The Centre is committed to provide all possible efforts to Odisha for its restoration work. I would like to congratulate the people of the state for their timely efforts to battle the cyclone. The government will extend all help to the fishermen and other affected people,” he added.

The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha, had Sunday reviewed relief measures in the affected areas of Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.