4-member team reaches Ghatal to assess damage due to floods

Kolkata: A four-member team comprising senior officers of different departments headed by Principal Secretary of Irrigation and Waterways department Prabhat Mishra took stock of the flood affected areas in south Bengal districts to expedite the restoration work in a proper planned manner.

The team comprising engineers and officers from the state Irrigation and Waterways department, Agriculture department and Public Health Engineering department held meetings with West Midnapore district administration and people's representatives.

District Magistrate Rashmi Kamal also attended the meeting held at SDO office at Bandar in Ghatal from where Rupnarayan originates.

This comes a day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's direction to Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi to send a team to Ghatal to assess the damage caused by the flood and to ensure proper restoration work at the earliest after the water recedes.

They took an aerial survey of the affected parts in West Midnapore including Ghatal, Daspur I and II and Chandrakona I and II. They also took stock of the affected areas at Khanakul and Arambagh in Hooghly and Amta and Udaynarayanpur in Howrah.

There was massive damage caused to infrastructure including small bridges, culverts and embankments due to the flood. "We wanted to know from people's representatives about the problems they closely witnessed in the area during the flood. It will help us in taking necessary measures to check the same next time," said an officer.

He further said that restoration work has already started at the places when water has receded. "The visit to the places would help us to plan the restoration work in a better way," the officer added.

Still many places including two gram Panchayats each in Chandrakona and Daspur are under water. Areas including Argora, Krishnanagar, Gambhirnagar and Chauli are still inundated.