Mamata to meet kin of victims of Mal river flash flood on Monday
Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be leaving for North Bengal on October 17 (Monday) to meet family members of victims of the flash flood that took place in the Mal river in Jalpaiguri district during the immersion of Durga idols on October 6, the day of Vijaya Dashami.
Eight persons died and another 16 were injured in the incident that was triggered due to a sudden rise in the water level, due to heavy rainfall in the upper catchment area of the river.
According to sources in the district administration, Banerjee will meet family members of the deceased as well as the injured at the auditorium of Mal Adarsha School in Malbazar on October 18.
Senior officials of the district administration and other concerned officials of the state administration will be present during the Chief Minister's meeting. Banerjee is likely to visit the residences of some of the deceased on the same day. She will be listening to the grievances of the family members, if any, and take measures to resolve them.
Ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each has already been handed over to the next of kin of the victim's family members and Rs 50,000 compensation has been provided to each of the families of the injured. Jobs to the next of kin of the deceased have also been announced by the state government.
The district administration led by DM Moumita Godara Basu and Superintendent of Police Jalpaiguri, Debarshi Dutta has already inspected the arrangements at the meeting site and the Tesimala resort where the Chief Minister is scheduled to stay during her visit.
Meanwhile, during the video conference related to dengue by the Chief Secretary on Saturday, the Irrigation department was advised to remain on alert during immersion of the ensuing Kali Puja and take measures in coordination with the administration immediately for combating any alert related to the release of water or inclement weather received at the control room.
After her meeting, Banerjee is scheduled to leave for Siliguri to attend the Vijaya Sammelan programme to exchange pleasantries with industrialists and Chambers of Commerce based in North Bengal. She is scheduled to return to Kolkata on October 20.
