Nearly 12 lakh extremely poor people in 15 coastal districts of the country remain exposed to the fury of cyclone every year due to inadequate cyclone centre.

Majority of the people who lost their lives in the in the cyclone Aila that battered 11 coastal districts a few days ago belonged to the extreme poor bracket. They could not take shelter for their safety because of inadequate shelter.

Agriculture or crop insurance, if introduced, will encourage banks to lend more to the farm sector on which the majority of the country's 150 million population depends for their livelihood, according to top bankers.

People in the remote areas of the south and south-eastern districts, inundated by tidal surges associated with cyclone Aila on May 25, are still facing acute crisis of drinking water, food and medicine amid an alarming spread of water borne diseases.

NAMRATA BIJI AHUJA
NEW DELHI

Mr Dasgupta was lauded by Mr Chidambaram for the quick work done by the state government on submitting the memorandum detailing the summary of damage and the requirement of funds

Sixty-one of the 133 hatchlings of crocodiles and five of the 13 deer have been missing from Wild Animal Breeding Centre at Karomjal under Chandpai Range of the east wing of Sundarbans Forest Division.

The matter was detected after Chandpai Range Deputy Ranger Abdur Rob, who is also acting as caretaker of the breeding centre, conducted a recounting.

Gale force winds that have wreaked havoc in the country of late struck once again this time in Mirigama on Sunday night, damaging 18 houses.

The Disaster Management Center said the storm had struck at around 8.45 pm on Sunday. According to the Center however it caused only minor damages to the houses with several roofs being blown away.

Cyclone Aila may have brought destruction in countries like India, Bangladesh and Bhutan but the hydropower sector in the Himalayan nation got a major boost due to the heavy rains triggered by the high-velocity storm.

Bhutan

Ravik Bhattacharya

Lahiripur (Sunderban Island): Nine-year-old Sandeepa Gharami survived Cyclone Aila, but succumbed in its aftermath. She died on an embankment near Lahiripur on Friday after several days of continuous vomiting and diarrhoea. She received no medical care. Her parents buried her by the river.

In troubled waters: The people of Gosaba Island in the Sundarbans of West Bengal waiting for the supply of drinking water from the government.
KOLKATA: Even as the West Bengal government has stepped up efforts to ensure that adequate relief reaches storm victims, a debate is on over the procedures for disbursement of funds for relief and rehabilitation work once Central assistance arrives.

The country has suffered a financial loss of several hundred crores of taka in agriculture and its sub-sectors, including fisheries, poultry and livestock, due to the cyclone Aila, said sources at the ministry concerned on Sunday.