Ceaseless downpour has inundated many areas of Malda, including major wings of the Malda Medical College and Hospital (MMCH) from where patients had to be shifted.

Many residents were confined to their homes in waterlogged neighbourhoods. “At least 18 of 29 wards of the town are waterlogged,” said Dulal Sarkar, the vice-chairman of the local Englishbazar municipality. The situation was worse in rural areas.

Floodwaters entered the collectorate, the district magistrate’s residence and many government offices. “We had to shift patients. Additional beds had to be arranged. Surgeries were done at alternative operation theatres,” said Amit Daw, the hospital superintendent.

Bhaswati Sengupta, a schoolteacher who got off at Malda Town station on Sunday night, failed to get home. “The entire locality was under water. The e-rickshaw I hired could not go there. Hence, I had to take go to my parents’ place in a different area,” Sengupta said. Many schools battling the floods announced a holiday.