JOIN USThe situation in north Bengal remains critical with more than 70,000 people displaced and living in relief camps.
While 12 people have been reported dead due to rising water levels across the region, the state government is in talks with Bhutan to prevent water flowing in from the hill kingdom.
“We’re in the process of talking to the Bhutanese government and find out ways to drain out excess water from River Bali and see to it that water does not get accumulated downstream in north Bengal. Excess water from Bhutan is flooding Dooars and neighbouring areas, adding to the severe situation,” said north Bengal Development Minister, Rabindranath Ghosh.
The minister, who visited the affected areas on Tuesday and took stock of the situation, said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had raised the issue during her visit to Bhutan last year.
“The rainfall in the last few days has been much heavier than usual, which led to the situation in parts of Dooars. A lot of water is flowing in from Bhutan, adding to the inundation in north Bengal,” he said.
State Irrigation Minister Rajib Banerjee, who admitted that the situation has spiraled out of control in some parts of north Bengal, told reporters, “The situation has worsened since it has been raining continuously for the last 10 days. In some places, rainfall has been as heavy as 200-300 mm a day. We’re doing everything possible to ensure people don’t suffer. We’re rescuing people from affected areas and have also set up a 24/7 control room in the districts to monitor the situation.” he said.
Banerjee said that officials in all the districts of North Bengal—Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar—have been instructed to start repair work of river embankments on a war footing.