Floods began to rise swiftly in the remote Jiti Tea Garden around 3:30 am on October 5. Panic spread through the community. Amid the darkness, one call changed everything. Eighteen-year-old Krintika Munda, a Class 11 student, sensed the looming danger and took decisive action — directly contacting Mal SDO Shubham Kundal, IAS. Her alert from the tea garden, located near the Bhutan border, became the trigger for a coordinated rescue mission that would save hundreds of lives in flood-hit Nagrakata. Responding to her call, the district administration, under the leadership of Jalpaiguri District Magistrate Shama Parveen, moved swiftly to begin focusing on the most vulnerable — pregnant and lactating mothers stranded in the submerged tea gardens. The next day, in the early hours, around the Bamundanga and Tundu Tea Gardens nearby, 20-year-old Shila Kharia went into labour. As floodwaters surged and roads vanished, the Block Medical Officer of Health (BMOH) at Nagrakata, along with his team and NDRF personnel, set out to rescue her. Braving the current, they ferried Shila in an NDRF boat to Sulkapara Rural Hospital, from where she was shifted to Malbazar Super Speciality Hospital. On October 7, she delivered a healthy baby girl weighing 2.7 kg. Shila’s story was among hundreds that unfolded across the region. The district administration ensured that 355 pregnant and lactating women received medical attention, shelter, and essential supplies. ADMs and SDOs personally coordinated the relocation of 21 expecting mothers to the Dhupguri Sub-Divisional Hospital and the Sulkapara Rural Hospital. Medical teams reached even the most inaccessible areas, providing tetanus injections, medicines for diarrhoea and fever, and distributing diapers, sanitary napkins, mosquito nets, and nutritional supplements. Among those rescued were Babita Oran, Aline Toppo, Pirika Majhi, Urmila Oraon, and Sabita Parveen — all of whom were safely relocated and placed under continuous medical supervision. Expecting mothers Rujina Parveen, and Soumika Oraon from Bamandanga Tea Garden were also rescued from Kheirkata by the BMOH and team, with ASHA workers and volunteers assisting. Rujina Parveen delivered a healthy boy baby weighing 3.8 kg at Malabazar Super Speciality Hospital, while Soumika Oraon gave birth to a healthy boy at Sulkapara Rural Hospital. In all cases, both mothers and babies are healthy and safe, said officials. District Magistrate Shama Parveen personally visited the flood-affected tea gardens, overseeing the distribution of food packets, milk powder, cakes, and dry fruits, with special focus on children, the elderly, and new mothers. “Every wing of the district administration — from Food and Supplies, Health, Civil Defence, Irrigation, Public Health Engineering, Electricity, Agriculture and Rural Development, Animal Resources, Police, Forest, and Land — has worked in close coordination under the disaster management umbrella,” Parveen said. “ADMs, SDOs, and BDOs have taken a hands-on approach, providing direct personal care and a healing touch to affected families. In times of crisis, it is most important to stand by the people.”
