Five districts of South Bengal have been severely affected due to heavy rainfall and discharge of water from various DVC (Damodar Valley Corporation) barrages of Maithon and Panchet and reservoirs of Mukutmanipur. Parts of Bankura, Howrah, Hooghly, West Midnapore and Purulia have mostly been affected with a total of 4477 people evacuated in 178 camps in these districts.
Under the instructions of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee a 24x7 control room at Nabanna has been made functional and can be contacted at — 033-22143526 & 1070 in case of any difficulty faced by the common people owing to inundation or similar problems.
“Bengal’s location is such that its low-lying areas get flooded if there is release of water from Jharkhand, Bihar or from Sikkim. We have made all necessary arrangements for the evacuation of people from the waterlogged areas and have enough relief materials, food and other necessary equipment in place. We are keeping a close watch on the situation and there is nothing to apprehend. We are hopeful of restoring the situation soon,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in a telephonic message during a press meet at Nabanna.
Banerjee who is presently suffering from an injury on her knee has been advised restricted movement by doctors. “It will take some more days for me to recover. I am constantly monitoring the situation from my residence and am in touch with the state administration,” she assured.
The 24x7 Integrated Control Rooms are functional in all districts. All leave of state government employees has been cancelled and the Health Department has been directed to ensure adequate supply of emergency medicines for dengue, malaria etc.
In West Midnapore, due to heavy rainfall large parts of Sabong and Ghatal blocks have been inundated. At least 1504 people have been evacuated in 102 camps across the district.
In Howrah, parts of Udaynarayanpur and Amta II block have been affected with Ghoraberia and Bhatora Chitnan Gram Panchayats bearing the brunt of the water release from DVC resulting in spate in river Damodar.
As many as 1238 people have been evacuated in 10 camps. Amta MLA Sukanta Pal made water pouches through automated machines with the help of state Public Health Engineering minister Pulak Roy and sent them to the affected people.
In Hooghly, parts of Khanakul I, Khanakul II and Tarakeswar have been inundated with 1104 people evacuated in 33 camps.
In Bankura, Sonamukhi block known for growing a plethora of vegetables has vast tracts of agricultural land under water. MLA Sonamukhi Dibakar Gharami himself rowed a boat to oversee the situation. About 72 persons have been evacuated in the district and have been accommodated in 10 camps. Around 559 people have also been shifted to 23 camps in Purulia.
As many as 5 NDRF teams have been deployed at Howrah; 2 each in Hooghly and West Midnapore. One SDRF Team has also been deployed in all the five affected districts.
Meanwhile, the discharge of water from various DVC barrages has been reduced to 40,000 cusec and the river level in Howrah and Hooghly has started receding. In the last two days, nearly 1.70 lakh cusecs of water was released by DVC.