Rain floods areas in two districts

A flooded locality in Jalpaiguri on Sunday. Picture by Biplab Basak

TT, Jalpaiguri/Cooch Behar: Many areas of Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts are under water because of incessant rainfall in the past 24 hours.

Three passenger trains were cancelled on Sunday due to soil erosion close to a railway bridge.

Jalpaiguri recorded a rainfall of 214mm from Saturday night to Sunday morning.

Nij Math, Paresh Mitra Colony, Netaji Para and Boilkhana under ward 25 of Jalpaiguri municipality were flooded as waters of the Karola river entered these areas.

Amar Roy, a resident of the ward, said: "Every year, we suffer during the monsoon but nobody cares. During elections, civic candidates make empty promises but in reality, they do nothing. We pack up our household goods and reach higher place."

Parimal Das, the councillor, said: "I said at board meetings several times that one master plan should be prepared for the people residing in the Nij Math area of ward 25."

Mohon Bose, the chairman of the municipality, said: "People residing in low lying areas suffer during the monsoon and we are trying to take up a project jointly with the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority."

In Mathabhanga and Dinhata subdivisions of Cooch Behar district, hundreds of people were in trouble because of water-logging due to incessant rain.

In the Cooch Behar town also, many wards were inundated but in the afternoon, the water level decreased.

The Torsha river was overflowing. The main road of Cooch Behar town was under 3ft-deep water throughout the day. Water was there in front of Cooch Behar palace also.

Bhhushan Singh, the chairman of Cooch Behar municipality, said: "There is no drainage problem in the town. But the area is water-logged as the Torsha river was overflowing."