CM says no need to panic, state keeping close watch
Heavy rains and release of water by the power utility firm, Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), on Wednesday continued to cause havoc in several districts even as chief minister Mamata Banerjee asked the people not to panic because the state government was keeping a close watch on the situation and taking necessary measures to tackle any adversity. As a timely measure, she also released `88 crore for the repair of the houses which were destroyed and damaged by Cyclone Aila in 2009. Meanwhile, in Burdwan, three people were killed in two separate incidents of house collapse.
In Kolkata, expressing serious concern over the deteriorating situation in some parts, the chief minister said: “However, there is no need for panic. The state administration is taking all necessary steps to protect the people from the fury of nature.”
She advised the people to leave low-lying areas and shift to dry places. She informed that the situation was being closely monitored at chief secretary level. “All government departments like irrigation, civil defence, disaster management are continuously reviewing the situation. The district magistrates and superintendents of police have been alerted in the districts,” she added. The state government has released `16 crore for repair of embankments.
State irrigation minister Manas Bhunia said that the DVC had released 87,000 cusecs water on Tuesday, but on the intervention of the state government, the volume was restricted to 82,850 cusecs on Wednesday. The minister said that Khanakul in Hooghly and Amta and Udaynarayanpur faced serious threats of inundation.
Rivers like Teesta, Mahananda, Damodar, Jalangi, Jamuna and Keleghai were flowing above danger level. If the incessant rain continued, then districts like Nadia, Birbhum, Burdwan, Bankura Howrah, Hooghly, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas would be badly affected. “Mercifully, there has not been any major devastation so far. We are praying to God to stop the rain,” he added. In north Bengal, the situation is bad in Malda.
In 2009, the Left Front government had announced a grant of `10,000 for the reconstruction of those houses which were destroyed and `2,000 for the ones partially damaged by Aila. Ms Banerjee pointed out that they were given just half the compensation. “The number of people whose homes were destroyed is 2,60,819 while those whose homes were partially damaged was 1,46,143,” she added.
Several trains were either cancelled or rescheduled. Howrah-New Delhi Yuva Express scheduled for Thursday has been cancelled. Howrah-Danapur Express will leave Sealdah station at 11:55 pm on Thursday instead of its scheduled departure at 8:35 pm from Howrah station. Howrah-Kathgodam Bagh Express left Howrah at 11.55 pm instead of 9:45 pm.
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