Expressing concern over the flood-like situation in the state, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that 10,000 people have been rescued and kept in 190 relief camps in nine districts in the southern and northern parts of the state. The northern part of West Bengal shares border with Sikkim which witnessed a flash flood in the Teesta river early in the day.
The chief minister said that three unidentified bodies were found near the Teesta Barrage area in Jalpaiguri district and those could be of victims from Sikkim. Banerjee, who is recuperating from a leg injury, said she is personally monitoring the situation round the clock from home and announced that leaves of a number of state government officials were cancelled as a part of the measure to contain the flood situation in the state.
Taking stock of the situation at a meeting, Banerjee asked Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi and Home Secretary BP Gopalika to immediately send a team of senior officials to flood-affected areas of West Bengal. “We have already rescued 10,000 people from low-lying areas in the districts. Already SDRF and NDRF teams have been alerted. I will monitor the situation 24/7 from home with a leg injury which may require another week to recover, she said.
Altogether 5,800 people were evacuated in Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts in the northern part of the state, while 5,018 others were rescued in Howrah, Hooghly, Paschim Medinipur, Purulia and Bankura districts in the south, the state government said in a statement. Banerjee also directed Dwivedi to start a 24-hour control room for people to register complaints due to the flood.
The NH-10 connecting Sikkim’s capital Gangtok and Siliguri, the largest city in northern West Bengal, has been completely washed away near the Likhuvir-Setijhora stretch. Immediate repairs on war footing will be taken up as and when the water recedes in Teesta, the statement said.
The chief minister also said adequate relief camps were opened in the state and urged the affected people not to take any chance and go to these shelters. Twenty-eight relief camps were opened in the northern part of the state and 190 in the south.
“I am concerned about Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri (in north Bengal). I asked several senior ministers and IAS officers to rush there to oversee rescue and relief operations. Close vigil is being kept to ensure no loss of life in the calamity,” she said. Banerjee directed the DMs, SPs and BDOs to keep constant watch on the situation in their respective districts. She said that parts of South 24 Parganas districts, the Sunderbans, and Sagar Island were also affected by the floods.
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