Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday called on the relatives of devotees who had been swept away in a flash flood in the Mal river during the immersion of Durga idols on Dashami day.

Moments after disembarking from a helicopter at Malbazar in Jalpaiguri district, she went to six houses to meet the families of six deceased people and an injured person.

Eight people had died in the tragedy on October 5.

“I met the relatives of all victims, except two whose kin are away in Gaya, and expressed condolences. We are with them. Tomorrow, we will have a meeting here where they will be present,” the chief minister said after interacting with the families.

Mamata appreciated the administration, Malbazar municipality and local residents for the rescue and relief works.

“Local residents, along with the administration and the municipality, had swung into action during the disaster. A number of youths like Mohammad Manik and Dara Singh risked their lives to rescue people. It is because of such a joint effort that around 450 people were saved,” Mamata added.

Upon her landing at a school ground in Malbazar, Mamata spoke to Leena Gangopadhyay, the chairperson of the West Bengal Commission for Women (WBCW). Her motorcade then headed for the house of Tapan Adhikary, a senior citizen who had lost his life in the incident. Mamata also went to other houses and met the relatives of five more deceased people and an injured person.

The state government, she said, is conducting a probe to ascertain the reason for the flash flood.

The chief minister was accompanied by state minister Aroop Biswas, chief secretary H.K. Dwivedi and other officials.

After the tragedy, there were grievances among a section of residents, including families of some of the deceased, that the Trinamul Congress-run civic body and the government hadn’t taken enough preventive measures on the bank of the Mal.

Dilip Pandit, a resident of the town who lost his wife and son in the flash flood, filed a complaint at the local police station against the civic body.

Earlier on Monday, Leena Gangopadhyay had met the families of the victims and the injured.

She spoke in detail to each family and said the women’s commission would propose to the state government to provide jobs to one member of each of the eight families.

(Additional reporting by our Jalpaiguri correspondent)