JALPAIGURI AND ALIPURDUAR SUBMERGED

TT, 15 July 2019, Siliguri: The southwest monsoon continued to pound north Bengal on Sunday, causing inundation in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar towns and raising the water levels of most rivers in the region.

A 42-year-old barber died after he had apparently slipped into a flooded drain while cycle back home on Saturday night.

Bimal Seal's body was found in the drain on Sunday morning. Police suspect as the drain was flooded and the road went under water, he lost the path and slipped into the drain. Seal was a resident of Sanupara of the town.

The body of an unidentified man was recovered from the Teesta at Barnish in Maynaguri.

A herd of elephants which were moving towards Sonakhali forest in Dhupguri block was left stranded on the grassland in the middle of the Dudua, a stream which was overflowing. Foresters reached the bank and were keeping a watch on the herd.

At Domohoni on the left bank of the Teesta near Jalpaiguri, there had been at least 300 rain cuts along the 2.5km long embankment. Also, one of the spurs on the right bank Residents trudge through a water-logged locality in Jalpaiguri on Sunday of the Teesta near Jalpaiguri has been damaged. Officials of irrigation department have started the repair.

In Jalpaiguri, rainfall that lasted for around six hours from Saturday evening to midnight flooded most of the 25 wards. The downpour also led to the electric supply got disrupted.

The water started receding from most areas on Sunday afternoon but a number of low lying areas remained water logged. Residents have blamed poor sewerage system of the town for the situation.

According to sources, it has rained 204mm in Jalpaiguri during past 24 hours (till 8.30am on Sunday). Also, it rained 110.7mm in Cooch Behar, 105.2mm in Siliguri, 60mm in Kalimpong and 31.9mm in Darjeeling.

The rains, which also increased water levels of rivers, prompted the irrigation department to sound a red alert on both banks of Teesta. Also, alerts were sounded on the banks of Jaldhaka, Torsha, Kaljani and Mansai rivers.

In Alipurduar, where it rained 160mm, water logging was reported in a number of areas of the town. The flood like situation made senior administrative and police officials and Sourav Chakraborty, the local MLA, to visit the affected areas and take a stock of the situation.

Later in the day, state tourism minister Gautam Deb reached the town. He held a meeting with officials.

"I am here as per the direction of the chief minister and have visited some affected areas. The rain has stopped and we hope situation will improve in couple of days' time. The administration has been asked to distribute relief among the affected residents," said the minister.

At least eight wards of the town got water logged due to rain and also because the Kaljani river flooded some of its areas on the banks. Four boats were engaged by the civic body to rescue people from these locations. Over 10,000 people have been affected due to the waterlogging, said sources.

The rise in water levels also snapped the connectivity between Alipurduar and Falakata as a diversion made over Char Torsha ­ a stream ­ was washed away. People had to take turnaround routes to reach Alipurduar from Falakata and Siliguri throughout the day.

In Malda, officials at the state irrigation department said, water levels have increased in Fulhar, Mahananda and Ganga, three prime rivers of the district. The Fulhar, they said, is flowing above the extreme danger level due to rainfall in upper catchment areas.