Cyclone Amphan: LS Speaker tells Bengal, Odisha MPs to be alert

With less than 24 hours to go before super cyclone Amphan makes a landfall in West Bengal, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday dialled up MPs of the areas that are likely to be affected by cyclone.

During his interaction with the concerned MPs, he urged them to be constantly in touch with their constituents in a "proactive" manner and guide them about the arrangements made by the different agencies.

Birla tweeted: "Spoke on phone to MPs of the affected areas regarding Cyclone Amphan in the Bay of Bengal. Urged them to sensitise people in the affected areas. Also, impressed upon them to monitor relief and rescue measures so that they timely reach those affected."

Sudip Bandopahyay, Saugata Roy, Dilip Ghosh, Shantanu Thakur, Arjun Singh, Bala Roy, Locket Chatterjee were among the MPs from West Bengal whom Birla called. Bengal is expected to be the worst hit by the cyclone.

Birla also called up MPs from Odisha, including Pinaki Mishra, Chandrashekhar Sahu and Pratap Chandra Sarangi, among others. Parts of Odisha, particularly the ones bordering Bengal, will also bear the brunt of the super cyclone that is believed to be the strongest in the Bay of Bengal area since 1999.

Earlier in the day, BJP President J.P. Nadda held an urgent meeting with the key party functionaries from Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu through a video conference, asking them to offer BJP's cadre base to the state governments and local authorities in their relief measures.

Meanwhile, IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra warned on Tuesday that the super cyclone will hit West Bengal around the afternoon on Wednesday with a "devastating wind speed" that is likely to cause "widespread damage".