BHUBANESWAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Friday to take stock of the situation in the wake of cyclone Amphan which inflicted heavy damage in coastal districts of the state.
Governor Ganeshi Lal, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy, national BJP vice-president Baijayant Panda and leader of the Opposition Pradipta Naik received the Prime Minister on his arrival. Several other senior state BJP leaders were also at the airport to receive Modi.
The Prime Minister will leave for an aerial survey of the affected areas accompanied by the Chief Minister and two union ministers. He will review the situation at a high-level meeting at the airport at 5 pm to be attended by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union ministers from the state Dharmendra Pradhan and Pratap Chandra Sarangi and senior officers. He is expected to leave for New Delhi at 6.15 pm.
About 44.8 lakh people of 1,500 panchayats under 89 blocks of the coastal districts have been affected due to the very severe cyclone Amphan which skirted the Odisha coast and made landfall in Sundarbans in West Bengal on Wednesday leaving behind a trail of destruction.