Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday expressed dissatisfaction with the “poor quality” of development work in East Midnapore’s Digha and advised her officials to do more than just seek funds.

“There was definitely some negligence in work…The construction (near) the sea beach has been blown away. There are no chairs (of concrete) that we had beautifully set up for visitors to rest. Stones on the walkway have been damaged. I saw that the stone blocks had been placed on concrete, which is not the way to do it. You had to set those deep and not just on the concrete base,” Mamata said and explained how she observed the faults during her visit to Digha on May 28 in the aftermath of Cyclone Yaas.

“Work can last long only if the foundation is strong,” she added.

Since Mamata came to power in 2011, she launched a slew of projects for Digha to enhance its standing as a tourist and business destination. The beach in the sea resort town was decorated and a marine drive-like road had been built to connect Digha with Mandarmani and Tajpur.

On Monday, Mamata admitted that the beauty of Digha built during her tenure had been completely damaged by Cyclone Yaas and high tide. She directed the officials to get Digha back to its prior look by implementing plans properly.

“The beauty of Digha has been damaged. Even shops on the beach that we built have been damaged....Even the shop of Biswa Bangla has been ruined. So, you have to make a good plan to repair those,” said Mamata.

Mamata also asked her officials to finish work on the bridge to complete the part of the Marine Drive that remains incomplete.“We have built a Marine Drive that is 7km long. The 3.5km has already been constructed and if the bridge is completed then the rest 3.5 km will be completed.”

I will request you to construct the bridge immediately,” said Mamata.

In her meeting she asked to reconstruct the shops, and rearrange the stone blocks that had been washed away using the right technique and attitude.

“Everything you do needs proper planning. But it will not be right if anyone seeks a lot of funds at this time. I think there is no need for huge funds, but you need a special attitude towards work,” said Mamata asking state and district officials to take care of fishermen and boatmen who suffered a lot due to the cyclone.