Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, currently undergoing treatment for a leg injury, participated in a virtual meeting on Wednesday with Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi and Home Secretary BP Gopalika to assess the flood-like situation in both North and South Bengal.
"I will personally oversee the situation. The NDRF and SDRF teams have been alerted. So far, approximately 10,000 people have been rescued and are being accommodated in various relief camps," stated Mamata.
According to a press release from the state secretariat Nabanna, the flooding is attributed to a cloudburst in North Sikkim and the subsequent release of a significant amount of water, leading to a breach in the Chungthang dam and the release of over 8,000 cubic meters per second of water from the Teesta barrage. This has resulted in flood-like conditions in Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, and Cooch Behar, with NH-10, connecting Gangtok to Siliguri, completely washed away near the Likhuvir-Setijhora stretch. Repairs will be undertaken urgently once the water levels in the Teesta recede, and the Chief Engineer and the team are already on their way to the location.
The statement also addressed the situation in South Bengal, citing persistent low pressure over the region and heavy rainfall in South Bengal and Jharkhand. This has led to substantial water discharge from various DVC barrages, such as Maithon and Panchet, and reservoirs like Mukutmanipur. Several districts, including Bankura, Howrah, Hooghly, Pachim Medinipur, and South 24 Parganas, have been severely affected.
In response to the crisis, Nabanna sources reported the establishment of a 24X7 integrated control room and have directed the health department to dispatch an adequate supply of medicines, particularly for diseases like Dengue and Malaria.
