Biswabrata Goswami
MIDNAPORE, 30 JULY: Torrential rain over the past two days owing to the formation of a low-pressure area over Gangetic West Bengal has thrown life out of gear in several parts of West Midnapore district where streets have gone under water and rivers overflowed banks, submerging low lying areas.
A woman named as Puspa Ruidas of Barmura village under Garhbeta-I block died after the wall of her house collapsed.
As many as 8000 people from Keshpur, Garhbeta-I and II blocks have been rescued to the Flood Centers. With Parang and Silabati rivers overflowing, parts of Keshpur and Chandrakona in West Midnapore lay inundated, cutting off remote areas from the rest of the district.
River banks of Parang have already been breached at several places especially Narajole and Rajnagar areas under Daspur-II block.
As many as 70 villages of Midnapore Sadar Sub-division have been cut off from the district headquarters due to the rising water levels in rivers following heavy rainfall in the past two days.
Most of these villages fall in Keshpur, some parts of Chandrakona and Garhbeta-I block. “My house has been submerged under nine feet of water. All our belongings have been destroyed. We somehow managed to leave the village,” Sadiq Khan of Panchami in Keshpur said.
Kalagram, Panchami, Gram Panchayats Nos -4, 12 and 15 in Keshpur are the worst hit areas, said an administrative official.
The district administration is yet to compile the damage caused by the flooding. However, flood water has submerged large swathes of farmland with the paddy crop standing in the district. Several hectares of land near river banks have also eroded due to strong flow of water.
In wake of a possible disaster, the district administration has sprung to action. “We have set up around 20 flood relief posts in the areas susceptible to flooding. These posts are coordinating with the district administration on how to provide relief to people in affected villages,” said a senior administrative official (who didn’t wish to be named).
The district administration has also set up relief camps where inhabitants are provided food, shelter and medical care.
“Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have also been pressed in to conduct rescue and relief operations. The teams are working in tandem with other departments. Additional personnel can also be called if needed but we hope the situation will not be further worsened because water started receding from this afternoon from many affected areas, said the official.
Tags: #Silabati #Parang #WestMidnapore #FloodWater
