At least 15L affected; 600 camps sheltering about 1.20L people

Kolkata: At least 15 lakh people have been affected due to heavy inundation following incessant rainfall for the past few days in the South Bengal districts.

The state government is at present running 600 camps where around 1.20 lakh people have taken shelter. The district administration has distributed tarpaulins and dry food among those affected. Baby food has also been provided.

East and West Midnapore districts have been badly hit and the situation turned worse in areas including Bhagabanpur, Patashpur, Pingla and Saband where thousands of people have now taken shelter at relief camps with water gushing into their houses.

The situation at Bhagabanpur turned critical with a large stretch of embankment with the Keleghai river getting washed away. The state Irrigation and Waterways department has taken initiatives to repair the embankments to check water entering into the villages. The situation might turn from bad to worse if those areas start receiving fresh spells of rain next week as there is a forecast of depression on Saturday.

The state government is taking necessary steps to minimise the loss as far as possible in case the South Bengal districts again experience incessant showers next week. Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi has already held a meeting in this regard.

The state Irrigation and Waterways department has initiated its dam assessment process to ensure a check and balance in terms of releasing water from its reservoirs if it becomes necessary. Senior officers are not ruling out a threatening situation if there is fresh rainfall as even Jharkhand has experienced rain and water will be released from the reservoirs in the neighbouring state. As a result, the combined release of water will lead to a flood-like situation in the riverine areas.