ith at least seven more deaths due to the flood-like situation in several districts, the death toll in Bengal crossed 40 on Saturday.
The deaths took place in Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur, Nadia and Kolkata. According to the regional weather office, heavy rain is expected in South and North 24 Parganas as well as in Nadia and Murshidabad in the next 24 hours.
In Purba Medinipur, one person died after he was injured as he slipped on a water-logged street.
“On Friday two persons died due to electrocution in the Kanthi sub division,” District Magistrate Antara Acharya told The Hindu . She also said that there were flood-like situations in the Kanthi, Patashpur and Pashkuda area in Purba Medinipur district.
At least 150 relief camps were set up in the district and 8,000 to 10,000 people were shifted there.
As for the Nadia district four persons died there so far. “While two have died due to drowning, two died of electrocution,” said District Magistrate Vijay Bharati. While one death took place in the Daspur block of Paschim Medinipur district, one man died of electrocution at Topsia in the south eastern part of the city.
Nearly two lakh people are affected due to incessant rain over the last few days, said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Nearly 1.8 lakh houses have been damaged so far. “About 1.19 lakh people have been shifted to 946 relief camps across the State and 12 districts are affected,” Ms Banerjee said. On Friday she said that 39 people died in Bengal. While a flood situation is yet to be announced by the Government, the situation is deteriorating by the hour, an official in the State Disaster Management department told The Hindu . “In case of more rain, there is a possibility of a full-scale flood in South Bengal,” the official said.
Kolkata waterlogged
Heavy rainfall lashed south Bengal districts and disrupted normal life in the State capital here, throwing road and rail traffic out of gear since early Saturday morning as most parts of the city were submerged.
According to the regional weather office, Kolkata received 143.2 mm of rain in the last 24 hours due to the cyclone Komen that had turned into a deep depression as it was heading towards Bengal. “We are expecting heavy rain the next 24 hours in several parts of the State because of this depression that will probably enter Bengal by Saturday night,” senior meteorologist at the regional weather office in Kolkata D. Pradhan said.
Daily commuters in the South Kolkata not only had to deal with the knee-deep water but also with the lack of public transport. In the eastern fringes of the city like Salt Lake passengers had to shell out exorbitant fares demanded by auto-rickshaw drivers as very few buses were plying.
Rail services were also disrupted in Sealdah and Howrah stations due to water-logging on the tracks. everal local trains, scheduled to depart from Sealdah, were detained due to signal failure and water-logging on the tracks. At Kolkata station the Kolkata-Lagola-Hazarduari express was cancelled and three more long distance trains were diverted to Sealdah.
29,000 affected in Amta
PTI adds: Over 29,000 people were affected in Amta of Howrah district following heavy rains, a district official said. Two canals were swollen following the showers at Amta one block inundating 29 villages, the official said. An estimated 29,000 people were affected as the flash floods damaged 400 mud houses, the official added. Of these, 5,000 were sheltered in relief camps. Local MLA Nirmal Majhi visited the area and inspected facilities at the 24/7 control room at BDO’s office.
About 1.19 lakh people have been shifted to 946 relief camps across the State
