The damaging floods in North Bengal were blamed on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who on Monday accused the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) of the devastating floods, terming them as man-made. She claimed that the DVC released water in its Maithan and Panchet reservoirs without the prior consultation of the state government, which worsened the flooding in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and the neighbouring districts, which were already under record rainfall since Saturday.
Addressing the media at Kolkata airport before boarding a flight to Bagdogra so as to oversee relief efforts, Mamata Banerjee commented that the state government had already prepared 45 buses to bring back stranded tourists to their home countries. More than 500 tourists have already been flown back, and others were brought back in large numbers yesterday. Approximately 250 of these tourists will be placed in Siliguri, she added. She also added that those hotels where the stranded tourists were to be found have been warned not to bill them or to request them to leave, and their entire costs will be taken care of by the government. There is only one missing, a person from Diamond Harbour.
In less than 12 hours, the rains produced over 300mm of torrents that washed away highways, bridges and houses in the area. To exacerbate the situation in Bengal, Banerjee accused the DVC of disposing water as it saw fit to save downstream regions in Jharkhand.
Darjeeling, Mirik, Sukhiapokhri and Jorebunglow, and Nagrakata, in Jalpaiguri district, were among the most seriously affected districts. The Chief Minister has verified 23 deaths so far -18 in Darjeeling, Mirik and Kalimpong and five in Nagrakata -and that the number might still go up as rescue and relief operations were still underway.
A government official of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) that governs the Darjeeling hills, claimed that road links to some of its remote villages had been blocked for over 24 hours following the calamity.
Click Here for Chhattisgarh News
Click Here for Entertainment News