作者： bharat.cn

An extremely severe cyclone Amphan packing winds of up to 190 kmph Wednesday rampaged through coastal Odisha and West Bengal, dumping heavy rain, swamping homes and farmland, and leaving at least 10 people dead, officials said.

While a man and a woman were reported killed when trees came crashing down on them in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, a 13-year-old girl died in a similar incident in adjoining Howrah. CM Mamata Banerjee claimed that at least 7-8 deaths have been confirmed due to the cyclone and many more are expected to be dead.

At least two people, including an infant, lost their lives as Cyclone Amphan ravaged through coastal Odisha.

The first casualty of the storm was a 57-yr-old woman of Satbhaya in Kendrapara who reportedly stayed back at home instead of moving to the nearest shelter home. While a two-month-old baby boy died due to wall collapse in Kampada village in Tihidi block of Bhadrak district.

FACED WAR-LIKE SITUATION: MAMATA BANERJEE

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is monitoring the situation from Nabanna, the state secretariat, however, claimed at least 10-12 people lost their lives.

“Area after area has been ruined. I have experienced a war-like situation today. Such a devastating storm took place in 1737. I am sitting in the war room. My office in Nabanna is shaking,” she exclaimed.

“At least 10-12 people have died. Nandigram, Ramnagar….the two districts of North and South 24 Parganas are destroyed. Patharpratima, Namkhana, Kakdwip, Kultali, Baruipur, Sonarpur all are pictures of the devastation. Rajarhat, Hasnabad, Sandeshkhali, Gosaba, Habra are all in danger,” she added.

India is inching closer to business as usual with announcements of resumption of air and train services within the country even as the number of Covid-19 cases reached 1,06,750 on Wednesday.

The Centre said that with a recovery rate of 39.62 per cent and a mortality rate of 0.2 death per lakh population, India was ahead of the rest of the world in dealing with the Covid crisis. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan told the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Health Ministers’ meeting that the country’s policy of micro-identification, mass isolation and quick treatment helped prevent large scale deaths and spread of Covid-19.

Businesses have started to reopen in various parts of the country. Delhi’s neighbouring Gautam Budhh Nagar on Wednesday announced that markets can reopen using the odd-even formula. Delhi has already allowed shops to open on alternative days. Gujarat resumed the state transport bus services, while Haryana decided not to run interstate services and limited its buses within the state.

Movement of buses created a massive political flutter on the UP-Rajasthan border as UP CM Yogi Adityanath and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi locked horns over the transportation of migrants. Around 500 buses full of migrants had to turn back from the state’s border as UP did not allow them entry.

Meanwhile, the economic crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic once again became evident on Wednesday as taxi service Ola laid off 1400 employees. The company said that due to the lockdown its revenue has come down by 95 per cent in the last two months.

Nationwide tally

India saw a spike of 5,611 cases of Covid-19 infections and 140 deaths in 24 hours, ending Wednesday morning. The death toll climbed to 3,303 with as many as 140 fatalities.

The total confirmed cases include foreign nationals too who were tested in India. India’s recovery rate stood at 39.6 per cent on Wednesday.

Two BSF personnel were killed on Wednesday when militants fired upon them in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The two BSF jawans were part of a patrol and had gone to buy something from a nearby shop when two motorcycle-borne borne militants attacked them, said Vijay Kumar, IG Kashmir.

While one of the jawans died on the spot, another succumbed to injuries at the hospital.

The militants also snatched the guns of the two soldiers as they fled from the encounter site.

The area has been cordoned off and search operation is on.