Heavy and incessant rainfall since Thursday evening inundated vast stretches of multiple south Bengal districts, especially in riverine and low-lying areas.
Districts such as Hooghly, Birbhum, Bankura and East and West Burdwan received 15-20cm of rain, the first such huge spell this monsoon.
The Met office in Calcutta had issued warnings for heavy and very heavy rainfall until Saturday morning in 10 south Bengal districts. While there is an alert for very heavy rainfall (7-20 cm) in Purulia, West Burdwan, Birbhum, and Murshidabad, the Met office cautioned districts such as East Burdwan, Bankura, and Nadia with a forecast of heavy rainfall (7-11 cm).
Most of the districts were forced to open relief centres and arrange relief materials for residents in the inundated pockets as reports of the deteriorating situation started reaching the local administration from early Friday morning.
“Our district witnessed 190mm (19cm) of rainfall in one night, which is why vast areas were inundated. We conducted a special meeting and opened a round-the-clock monitoring unit to keep a tab on the situation,” said K. Radhika Aiyar, the East Burdwan district magistrate.
Nine out of 13 gram panchayats of Bhatar block and many other pockets in this district were waterlogged.
A source said the DVC had started releasing water from Thursday morning to facilitate the farmers with irrigation, according to its existing plan.
“As reports of inundation started coming from areas on the Damodar basin, the DVC stopped releasing the irrigation water,” said an official.
As multiple rivers in East Burdwan swelled because of heavy rainfall, many pockets in both rural and urban areas went underwater since Friday morning.
“Several wards of Burdwan town have gone underwater. It did rain heavily but the municipal authorities have done little to clean clogged drains before rains,” said Raghunath Dey, a resident of the town.
A senior disaster management department official claimed that if these districts witness another spell of heavy or very heavy rainfall within 24 hours, many south Bengal pockets would experience flood-like conditions.
In Birbhum, the bridge on the river Kopai in Santiniketan, a famous tourist attraction, went underwater early Thursday morning, cutting off communication between Santiniketan and at least 50 adjoining villages. Another tourist destination, Kankalitala Kali Temple, was also inundated.
The Birbhum district administration issued an alert for multiple blocks with low-lying areas, including Labhpur and Bolpur, which witnessed around 20cm of rain since Thursday afternoon.
Multiple areas of Hooghly districts were also inundated. Train movement became slow following a landslide beside a track near Debipur railway station on the Howrah-Burdwan main line on Friday morning. However, the railway authorities took immediate measures to repair the portion.
The heavy rainfall also caused severe traffic congestion on Durgapur Expressway, where extension work is under way.
Opposition parties claimed that the situation had exposed the poor drainage and flood management systems in the state.
BJP workers in Hooghly on Friday blocked the Chinsurah-Tarakeshwar state highway and planted saplings as a token of protest against waterlogging.
Bankura also witnessed incessant rainfall in the last 24 hours, and several pockets in areas such as Mejia, Saltora, and Chhatna were inundated, disrupting traffic movement as several causeways and bridges were overloaded by swelled river water.
“We restricted traffic movement for a few hours in some places to avoid untoward incidents. We have also brought many people to relief centres, particularly those living in vulnerable houses. We have opened control rooms in districts to keep an eye on the situation. Relief materials have been reached for the people in need,” said Siyad N., Bankura District Magistrate.
