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Southern West Bengal has been hit by a devastating storm and heavy rains which have claimed close to 50 lives and displaced millions in the past week
The flood toll in West Bengal has gone up to 47, with nine more deaths reported from Birbhum and Murshidabad districts on September 24. The state government has announced additional relief of Rs 17 crore for 11 districts where 5.4 million people have been affected by nearly a week of heavy rain.
In south Bengal, the situation is "alarming" despite a let-up in the rain and the release of water from reservoirs, said the state's finance minister Asim Dasgupta. The worst affected districts are Howrah, Hooghly, Murshidabad, North and South 24 Parganas, East and West Midnapore, Birbhum and parts of Burdwan. Water has been released from the Messanjore, Kanshavati and DVC dams.
Although the overall flood situation has improved in Birbhum, four people were killed and two washed away by floodwaters on the night of September 23. In Murshidabad, three people died under similar circumstances.
The next of kin of those killed in the floods and a devastating storm in the Bay of Bengal on the night of September 19 will get Rs 1 lakh each, including Rs 50,000 from the Indian government.
Around 1.8 lakh houses have been damaged in the disaster. Rs 4,000 will be paid out to those whose houses have totally collapsed, and Rs 2,000 to those whose homes have been partially destroyed, said the minister.
District magistrates have been directed to set up a monitoring committee and prepare a list of affected people and the relief provided to them. The district magistrates will then have to submit a detailed report on the situation. A special control room has been set up at Writers' Building in the state capital Kolkata to monitor events.
The government has warned that action will be taken against businessmen if they are found to have raised the price of foodgrain to take advantage of the crisis.
"The meteorological department has said that the depression which caused the rains has weakened and is moving northwards. Under its influence, sub-Himalayan West Bengal will see heavy rains," said Dasgupta.
"We are keeping a close watch," he added. "Until the situation becomes normal, no government official associated with relief and rescue operations will go on leave." He said 2,150 tonnes of foodgrain and 1.25 lakh pieces of tarpaulin, clothes and baby food had been sent to the affected districts.
Meanwhile hundreds of Bangladeshi fishermen, unaccounted for five days after the September 19 storm, returned to shore on September 25 as the sea calmed and the weather improved, officials in Dhaka said.
They added that more fishing boats were expected to return, although the exact number of people killed in the storm might never be known.
Late on September 24, officials said the number of people reported missing was nearly 4,000. But, they said, the number could have been exaggerated in order to inflate compensation claims. The Bangladesh navy and coastguard and dozens of fishing trawlers are continuing their search for the missing fishermen.
Source: The Telegraph, September 25, 2006
Kolkata Newsline, September 25, 2006
www.zeenews.com, September 25, 2006
www.alertnet.org, September 25, 2006
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