Around 100 families had to leave their homes at Khoklabusty in Jaigaon
on Saturday night when a river and two streams flowing from Bhutan submerged the locality.

Jaigaon is located in the Alipurduar district and sits on the India-Bhutan border.

The Goborjyoti river and the two streams, including the Jogikhola, also brought huge debris deposits to Khoklabusty.

Officials of the Kalchini block administration and the Jaigaon Development Authority (JDA) rushed to the spot and rescued the affected families whose residences were covered with silt and rubble.

“The families have been shifted to the Manglabari Primary School. They are being provided with food and other relief items,” said Ganga Prasad Sharma, the chairman of the JDA.

The rescued people included 25 infants, he said.

Sharma, along with officials of the irrigation department, visited the affected area on Sunday. The administration engaged three excavators to clear the debris as the water receded. The families also joined the efforts to remove the silt.

“It didn’t rain much in Alipurduar. However, the river and the streams which originate from Bhutan swelled and caused flash floods because of heavy rain in the neighbouring country. We are monitoring the situation,” said Amar Kumar Singh, an executive engineer of the state irrigation department in Alipurduar.

Weather experts have said there is a forecast of heavy rainfall in Bhutan during the next few days. As a result, water levels of rivers flowing through the Alipurduar district might increase, which in turn can trigger flash floods.

“We have issued a warning and asked people who live closer to the banks of rivers and in low-lying areas to shift to safer places,” said an official.

Sharma said the relief camp would operate for some more days. “The families will be provided with food, accommodation and other help until their houses are cleaned and repaired. The block administration is preparing a report on the damage,” he said.