Storm: Poll-hit CMs damage control

Battered by the election storm,West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee lost no time visiting an area hit the worst in Mondays cyclone in the state....

Battered by the election storm,West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee lost no time visiting an area hit the worst in Mondays cyclone in the state. South 24 Parganas lost 11 people in the storm,while over 4 lakh people were either rendered homeless or displaced. As he assured cyclone victims that all your needs will be taken care of,Bhattarcharjee perhaps bore another statistic in mind: its here in South Parganas district that the CPIM has lost maximum territory to the Opposition in the past couple of years.

The Prime Minister called me and asked me if I needed any help. And I told him if needed,I will definitely talk to him. I got calls from Pranab babu Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and A K Antony Defence Minister. We will have to work on a war footing to restore normalcy to the lives of the people here, the Chief Minister said at a press conference.

Earlier,he held meetings with district administration officials at Joynagar,and visited B R Ambedkar College at Jamtala,20 km away,to meet cyclone victims who had taken shelter there. He was accompanied by senior officials.

At the relief camp,Bhattacharjee spoke to the cyclone victims like a family patriarch All your needs will be taken care of8230; I advise you not to drink the water of the tubewell as it is contaminated. Tell your children also not to do that. You will be given water pouches.

As one of the victims shouted at the Chief Minister Babu,our houses have been razed to the ground,Bhattacharjee spoke with a hand raised in assurance: Dont worry,you will get money. I am going back to have another meeting. I will tell my officials.

In the last panchayat elections,the Trinamool Congress won the zilla parishad in South 24 Parganas. By the time of the recent Lok Sabha elections,the party and its allies had grown further in strength,enough to defeat the CPIM on all four seats.

Bhattacharjees trip though may not be enough to dissipate the anger. Anil Sardar of Kaikhali village,one of the worst hit in the cyclone,said: The water from the tubewell is saline,but we have to drink that only. Where are the water pouches? And we have been given just muri to munch since morning.

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The Chief Minister was at pains to stress on Monday that money wasnt an issue. At the meeting with district officials,he said: Whatever money is required will be given to you. You work hard. And no officer or employee can take leave till the last man is sent back home from the camps.