Mamata to rush special team to flood-hit North Bengal today

MP | 16 July 2023 | Alipurduar/Jalpaiguri: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be sending a high-level disaster management team on Monday to flood-hit North Bengal. 

On Sunday the Chief Minister tweeted: “Sending a high- level disaster management team tomorrow to flood-hit North Bengal under my Irrigation Minister and including Secretaries of Disaster Management, Irrigation and Agriculture. 

North Bengal districts have received heavy rainfall, rivers have swollen, roads have been disrupted, properties have been damaged, people have been marooned. DMs and SPs are doing relief and rescue works on war footing with help of NDRF and SDRF. 

I have been monitoring personally and instructed my CS to supervise the field situation round the clock. No stone will be left unturned.” 

This special team, under the observation of the Irrigation and Waterways Minister, Partha Bhowmick, is expected to visit Jaigaon and Mech Para tea gardens in the Kalchini block, as well as the Madarihat block of Alipurduar. In Jalpaiguri district, they are scheduled to visit Banarhat and Ngarakata Blocks. 

Besides visiting the affected areas, the team members will hold a meeting in Uttarkanya to discuss this issue. 

On Monday, the group had a meeting with the officials of the two districts to discuss the flood situation and erosion. Following the meeting, the team will visit the flood-affected areas. The flood situation in Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri districts is better owing to the absence of heavy rain in the last two days. 

On Thursday, a flash flood caused significant damage in the Kalchini and Madarihat blocks of the Alipurduar district due to river water flowing in from Bhutan. The flash floods have severely damaged several state roads and national highways. 

Work is on to restore road communication between India and Bhutan. A diversion was created on the Gobar Jyoti River in the Jaigaon Bee Bari area of the Alipurduar district. 

Moreover, restoration work has commenced on the approach road of the bridge that was washed away on Asian Highway No. 48 during Thursday’s flash flood in the Bee Bari area. 

Surendra Kumar Meena, the district magistrate of Alipurduar, stated: “Efforts are underway to ascertain the extent of damage caused by the flood. 

Tomorrow, a special team from the state will meet in Uttar Kanya as per the instructions of the state chief minister to access the situation. After the meeting, the team is supposed to visit the flood-affected areas.” 

According to the Jalpaiguri district administration, several culverts have been damaged in the Banarhat area and the national highway has been affected in the Maynaguri area. However, the total damage is still being accessed. 

As per the reports received by the administration till Saturday, more than 250 houses have been damaged in the flood-affected areas in the district. 

The district administration has initiated efforts to assist the affected families with house-building grants. Jalpaiguri District Magistrate, Moumita Godara, said: “The agricultural sector has also suffered, but the full extent of financial damage is yet to be ascertained. 

Repair work has commenced on all damaged areas of the river embankment. If the team visits the affected areas first, they can be taken to Banarhat and Angrabhasha in Nagrakata, as these two places have suffered the most damage.” 

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/mamata-to-rush-special-team-to-flood-hit-north-bengal-today-525830