Malda: Torrential rain that lashed Malda on Friday night and Saturday claimed a life in a roof collapse. Widespread damage to potato cultivation has also been reported throughout the district.
On Saturday morning, a portion of the roof at Netaji Commercial Market in Rathbari under English Bazar suddenly collapsed, killing Mintu Sarkar (32), a night guard, while sanitation worker Deep Sardar was heavily injured. “We heard a loud sound and rushed to the spot. Two people were trapped under the debris,” said a local resident. Police have begun an investigation, stating that “structural negligence will be examined,” as the old building had reportedly become dilapidated over time.
Meanwhile, the same spell of heavy rain, accompanied by hailstorms in parts of Habibpur block, has devastated potato fields. Around 12,500 hectares are under potato cultivation in the district this year, with an expected production of 4.5 to 5 lakh metric tonnes, compared to almost 4 lakh metric tonnes last year. However, waterlogging has left fields submerged and crops damaged.
In Bulbulchandi’s Anail area, farmer Sunil Barman said: “I cultivated potatoes on 10 bighas, spending nearly Rs 30,000 per bigha. I was waiting for better market prices, but the rain destroyed everything. Now we are rushing to harvest to prevent rotting, but we won’t even recover our costs.”
Malda has 15 cold storages with a total capacity of about 1.9 lakh metric tonnes, but traders fear reduced supply. Ujjal Saha, president of the Malda Cold Storage Industry Owners Association, said: “Almost 30 per cent of the total harvest is feared to be damaged. We are talking to concerned government officials to save our farmers.” Mpost