SUCI activists demand immediate relief for cyclone victims

Kolkata, May 31 (ANI): Demanding immediate and proper relief for the people affected by cyclone Aila, the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) staged a protest march here on Saturday.

The members and supporters of the SUCI took to streets demanding food, drinking water and medical teams for the cyclone-hit people in South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas.

They claimed that the relief provided till now to the victims was not adequate.

"We are demanding that as soon as possible special funds should be allocated to repair river banks. We also need medical teams. Their houses have been destroyed. We need houses for their permanent rehabilitation," said Tarun Mondal, a senior leader, SUCI.

Cyclone Aila that originated over the Bay of Bengal on Monday (May 25) caused havoc in many parts of West Bengal and Bangladesh.

The resultant thunderstorm, tidal waves and flooding forced half a million people to abandon their homes in Medinipur, Sundarbans (located in South 24 Parganas), North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts.

Millions of people in India and Bangladesh who have been temporarily displaced are in desperate need of water, food and adequate shelter after the cyclone Aila hit the region.

It is estimated that cyclone Aila killed at least 210 people and injured over 6,400 in India and Bangladesh.

While hundreds of thousands of residents were evacuated to cyclone shelters, schools, colleges and other buildings, the high winds and floods destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, ravaged crops, killed livestock and damaged roads and bridges.

In West Bengal, authorities say that nearly 2.3 million people have been affected. (ANI)