Depression over Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal , more rains predicted

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was on a five-day official trip to London, will cut short her visit and return to India following a cyclone alert sounded by the Met department.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department forecast issued on Tuesday, a depression is set over north-east Bay of Bengal and adjoining coastal areas of Bangladesh and Bengal.

In Purba Medinipur, one person died after he was injured as he slipped on a water-logged street. She is expected to visit more flood affected areas soon, officials said. Movement of the trains was a bit slow as tracks at some places were still submerged, the SER CPRO Sanjay Ghosh said.

Flood-like situation was reported in several districts of South Bengal like Howrah, South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore with heavy rains lashing these areas in the last few days.

“A team of Assam Rifles have reached the spot (Joumol village) today with the help of a helicopter and carrying out search and rescue operation”, an official source said to HT.

As per reports received from the Collectors of the concerned districts, the SRC said about 4.79 lakh people of 597 villages under 15 Blocks and one ULB in five districts namely Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Jajpur, Bhardak and Balasore have been affected by the current spell of flood.

Banerjee said crops over 2.10 lakh hectares of farmland were destroyed across the state.

She confirmed 39 rain-related deaths in the state, while vowing to support the flood-affected people. “Our officers are there”, he added.

Normal train services have also been restored under South Eastern Railways. The rescue operations remain hampered due to the floods.

On whether Centre would be asked to declare it as natural calamity, the CM said: “Such expenses come from the National Disaster Relief Fund and State Disaster Relief Fund. Also, we are yet to assess the extent of total loss and damages, which will definitely be huge”.

“They have evacuated more than 1,000 people to safer area and provided relief items such as food, drinking water and medicines and medical cover to over 2,400 people”.

The Army Flood Relief Columns are located in Banaskantha and Bhuj in Gujarat, and Chirpatiya, Dhanera and Sanchor in Rajasthan. At least 450 villagers have been evacuated from the village where river Bhagirathi had overflown.

“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.