Maynaguri begins recovery after devastating storm
Jalpaiguri: The situation has started normalising in the storm-ravaged Maynaguri Block since Sunday. Traffic has already been cleared by removing trees from important roads. The families affected by the storm have been given relief items, including tarpaulin sheets. Additionally, the calculation of financial loss has begun. Tamajit Chakraborty, Sub-Divisional Officer of Jalpaiguri Sadar Sub-Division, said: “The situation is now normal, but various departments are still conducting surveys to assess the extent of the damage. Therefore, the final estimate of the loss is not possible at this point.”
The memory of the mini tornado in Barnish of Maynaguri has not faded and several Gram Panchayat areas, including the municipal area of Maynaguri, were hit by a strong storm last Friday night. Wards 14, 12 and 4 of Maynaguri Municipality were particularly damaged in the 15-minute storm, which caused significant damage to several houses. According to the block administration, many houses were destroyed by falling large trees in various places adjacent to Maynaguri Overbridge, Sahapara and the BDO office. The storm also wreaked havoc in the Maua Mari and Domohani areas. A car driver was injured when a tree fell on top of the car during the storm. Twenty people were injured to varying degrees, with one person undergoing treatment at North Bengal Medical College and two others at Jalpaiguri Super Specialty Hospital.
Maynaguri Block BDO Prasenjit Kundu said: “So far, according to our calculations, 15 houses have been completely damaged, with partial damage to 50-100 more houses. Relief has been provided to the affected families. Block staff are still surveying the affected areas. Many trees and electricity poles were uprooted.” Sanjay Mondal, regional manager of the Jalpaiguri State Electricity Distribution Company, said: “There has been a loss of around Rs 60 lakh in this storm, including damage to more than 80 different types of electricity poles, cables and transformers. However, emergency work started on Saturday and after completing more than 90 per cent of the work, we have begun providing electricity connections to every house. Electricity will be delivered to every house in the area by Sunday evening.”
