Flash flood during Durga idol immersion leaves 8 dead, 13 injured

Ms are requested to take all precautions at the ghats at the time of immersion to prevent incidents of deaths due to drowning etc

Amitava Banerjee |  MP  |  7 Oct 2022 | Darjeeling: The death toll in the Malbazar flash flood incident stands at eight with 13 persons injured. Search operations continued throughout Thursday; however, there was no fresh recovery of bodies. The district administration has cancelled the Puja Carnival scheduled for October 7. 

The deceased persons included an eight-year-old boy and a girl, aged 13, an official said, adding that among the other six were three women. Nabanna has called for a detailed report of the incident from the Jalpaiguri district administration. All district administration officials have been ordered to keep a close tab on immersion sites. 

They have been directed to visit the sites personally and ensure that all necessary arrangements are in place. "DMs are requested to take all precautions at the ghats at the time of immersion to prevent incidents of deaths due to drowning etc," directed the Chief Secretary. 

A sudden flash flood in the Mal river in Malbazar, Jalpaiguri district, during Durga visarjan (idol immersion) on Wednesday evening swept away many, leaving eight dead and 13 injured who have been admitted to Malbazar and Jalpaiguri Super Specialty hospitals. According to eyewitnesses, a crowd of around a thousand people had gathered on the banks of the river to witness the Durga immersion festivities. 

The river, which hardly had a few inches of water, suddenly turned turbulent as its level rose to a few feet in a matter of minutes owing to heavy rains in the mountains that triggered a flash flood. Many, who had crossed over to the middle of the river, got trapped and were swept away by the swift current. 

"We had made all adequate arrangements — both police and civil. For the past 20 years, the immersion has been held here but nothing like this had ever happened before," stated Debarshi Dutta, SP, Jalpaiguri. "As the water level began to rise, we started miking, asking people to shift to higher grounds, but no one paid any heed," added Bappa Karmakar, a civil worker. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams scanned the river on Thursday. 

They went through the entire stretch of the river till Neora but no bodies were found on Thursday. 

"There has been no verbal or written missing person complaint on Thursday," added the SP. The Puja Carnival also stands cancelled. "Giving regards to the sentiments of the majority of Puja committees who intended to participate in the Jalpaiguri Municipality carnival earlier, the festivities stand cancelled which is in conformity to the general public sentiment," stated Moumita Godara Basu, District Magistrate, Jalpaiguri. 

As per the announcement of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Rs 2 lakh was given as ex-gratia to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured. Gautam Deb, who visited the hospitals, handed over the cheques. 

State Backward-class Welfare minister and MLA from Mal, Bulu Chik Baraik has been overseeing the rescue operations. "We are always with the people in times of crisis," added Mayor Deb. 

http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/jalpaiguri-flash-flood-during-durga-idol-immersion-leaves-8-dead-13-injured-495125