West Bengal: Flood situation begins to worsens in different pockets of northern parts of the state
After the deluge in Sikkim, the flood situation has started worsening in different pockets of northern West Bengal with the worst affected being Darjeeling and Kalimpong in the hills and Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar in the plains of Terai and Dooars regions.
The situation was reported to be critical in three other districts in north Bengal, namely North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur and Cooch Behar districts, as the Teesta River started swelling following flash floods in the hills of neighbouring Sikkim.
Three floating bodies, including that of a woman, have been recovered at Gajoldoba area in Jalpaiguri district since last night. The administration was not sure whether the bodies were that of a local area or had been carried by flowing flood-water from the hills.
Flood situation at Gajoldoba worsened as the lock-gates of the barrage there had to be opened to release the heavy rush of water. Various parts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts in the hills of north Bengal have been totally disconnected from the mainland following the alarming flood-situation. The rescue team have so far rescued over 5,000 persons from these pockets.
West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose reached North Bengal to review the flood situation there this morning.Curtailing his programmes outside the state, he reached the Bagdogra Airport near Siliguri in North Bengal and from the airport he directly went to the different flood- affected spots. While speaking to the media persons, the Governor also reacted to the comments from the state irrigation Minister Partha Bhowmik where the latter described the Governor as a “tourist” to north Bengal.
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose today said, the ecology is being destroyed in the name of development, and maintained that specific studies need to be undertaken to mitigate disasters like the one that struck Sikkim.
