At least six persons were killed, mostly by electrocution, as heavy rain and gusty winds brought by Cyclone Remal lashed southern districts of West Bengal since Sunday night. The cyclone, which made landfall around 9 pm in an area between Sagar Islands and Khepupara in neighbouring Bangladesh, left a trail of destruction in North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Kolkata, and Howrah districts, as it moved north along the coast of Bangladesh and West Bengal.
According to an estimate by the state government, nearly 15,000 houses in 24 blocks and 79 municipal wards in the coastal areas were affected by the cyclone. “At least 14,941 houses were damaged, out of which 13,938 were partially affected, while 1,003 were destroyed,” said an official.
“The strong winds, which reached the speed of 135 km/hour, uprooted around 2,140 trees and 337 electric poles,” said an official.
“The figures will probably increase after another round of evaluation. Our officials in the districts are working and the process of evaluation is still on. The estimation of the damage is being calculated,” the official added.
The affected areas included Kakdwip, Namkhana, Sagard Island, Diamond Harbour, Fraserganj, Bakkhali, and Mandarmani.
A woman, who fell into a pool of water, died of electrocution in Maheshpur in South 24 Parganas. A 47-year-old man, identified as Gopal Burman, got electrocuted by open wire during rain at Khardah, officials said. A father-son duo died from electrocution in Memari area of Purba Bardhaman while they were cutting banana trees uprooted by the storm. The administration had shifted 2.07 lakh people to the 1,438 safe shelters, the official said, adding that at the moment there are 77,288 people in the relief camps.
“There are 341 gruel kitchens being operated at the moment. We have distributed 17,738 tarpaulin sheets to the affected people in the coastal and low-lying areas,” the official said.
Kolkata recorded 150 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours till 8.30 am, while neighbouring Salt Lake received 110 mm rain. Tarakeswar in Hooghly received the highest amount of rainfall in south Bengal at 300 mm, the Met office said.
The rainfall caused water logging in several low-lying areas in Kolkata, leading to traffic disruption.
Train and Metro services were also disrupted due to waterlogging of tracks.
Meanwhile, the flight operations at the Kolkata airport resumed around 9 am on Monday. The flight services were suspended since Sunday noon as a precautionary measure. However, officials said delays and cancellations were expected.
Expressing concern regarding the impact of Cyclone Remal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the relatively lower loss of lives amidst the calamity was largely attributable to the precautionary measures enforced by the state administration.
“West Bengal is a riverine state, on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. Every year, we have to face various natural disasters. This time due to the impact of Cyclone Remal, our state has suffered a lot of damage… But above all, is human life. Fortunately, and certainly due to the actions of the state administration, the loss of life this time is relatively less. My heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. Financial assistance as compensation will immediately reach their next of the kin,” she said in a post on X.
Underscoring the necessity of immediate compensation for affected families, the chief minister assured that the administration would adhere to legal protocols in distributing aid for crop and property damages.
She pledged to address these issues more comprehensively post the withdrawal of the Model Code of Conduct following the ongoing elections. “The distribution of compensation for damage to crops and houses will be looked into by the administration as per the law and we will consider all these issues more seriously once the election code of conduct is withdrawn,” she added.
With PTI Inputs
Rains and strong winds ahead of the landfall of Cyclone 'Remal', in South 24 Parganas district, Sunday. (PTI) 
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