State takes steps to avert loss of life and property

Kolkata: The state Irrigation and Waterways department has taken up proactive steps by identifying the vulnerable spots on embankments in five south Bengal districts to avert loss of life and property during the year's second strongest high tide.

The spell of the second strongest high tide, that is usually called spring tide, will continue from September 16 to 20. Every year during this high tide, the chances of inundation of villages and agricultural land goes up with water spilling over embankments. This year the officials are a bit more cautious as already the state witnessed a heavy spell of rainfall in the last month before the people had forgotten the pain of devastation caused by super cyclone Amphan.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also directed the concerned officers to ensure a proper arrangement at the time of high tide so that people do not face any untoward situation.

An officer of the department said, the tide time table shows that the second strongest will be in mid-September and the strongest one will be on 16 October. "We have taken preparations starting from the deployment of engineers and sufficient manpower to stacking of raw materials close to all the vulnerable points have been done so that immediate steps can be taken if we find the situation is turning worse at any of these points," an official said adding that the effect of this high tide remains limited to five south Bengal districts only.

There are more than 100 such points in Sunderbans itself. There are a hundred others in Howrah, Hooghly and East Midnapore. The repair of embankments that were damaged due to super cyclone Amphan is being carried out as maximum as possible.