Floods: No. of affected people in 12 South Bengal dists goes up to 30L
Kolkata: With the DVC continuing to release water from its reservoirs, the total number of persons affected due to the flood in 12 south Bengal districts went up to 30 lakh.
On Saturday the total number of affected people was 22 lakh. Over 1.5 lakh houses were damaged with more villages going under water in Howrah's Amta, Udaynarayanpur and Bagnan, Birbhum's Nanoor, West Midnapore's Kharagpur, Ghatal, Debra, Pingla, Sabang and Daspur, Bankura's Bishnupur, Arambagh and Khanakul I and II and Pursura, Bankura's Barjora and Sanamukhi, East Midnapore's Patashpur and Bhagabanpur, East Burdwan's Ausgram II and Ketugram II block and West Burdwan's Kanksa. The state government is running 1500 relief camps where 2.25 lakh people were given shelter and so far 5 lakh people were evacuated. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, during her visit to flood affected areas, said that DVC released another 2 lakh cusec water on Saturday.
Four wards of Katwa Municipality went under water besides the areas at Mongalkote and Ketugram. Though the situation at East Burdwan's Ausgram has marginally improved, people at Ketugram are in deep trouble with their houses getting washed away with the increase in water-level.
With water released from Mukutmanipur reservoir, four villages at Kharagpur II block in West Midnapore went under water with the embankments of river Kanksabati getting damaged twice in the past two months near Gopalpur area. Uncertainty looms over organising Durga Puja at Udaynarayanpur in Howrah where the bamboo structure of a pandal went under water leaving the organisers almost hopeless with only a few days left for the state's biggest festival.
Around 120 households are involved with the Puja. People were found walking in chest deep water at Arambagh's Daulatpur in Hooghly to reach a safe place as the water level in the villages increased with embankments of river Dwarakeswar getting damaged. The 50 teams of NDRF and SRF and eight columns of Indian Army were found rescuing people and helping them get food at the affected areas.
