2.3 million homeless, 25 dead, it’s time for political blame game in Bengal

A day prior to his tour of the affected areas, the CM had announced a relief package of Rs 6 crore for the affected areas. The state Government has criticised the Jharkhand Government’s move to release 6.90 lakh cusecs of water from the Subarnarekha barrage within the last 48 hours without any warning. Jharkhand is reeling under the worst floods in over 60 years.

Taking stock of the situation, Pradesh Congress Committee chief and Union Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi slammed the Left Front Government for its “callous” approach towards the situation. “The Government was forewarned by the Weather Department, but its indifference led to the current situation. There was no contingency plan. I have spoken to Home Minister Shivraj Patil,” he said.

West Midnapore District Magistrate N S Nigam said Sabang, Pingla, Narayangarh, Keshiari, Sankrail, Nayagram, Danton and Gopiballavpur blocks have been hit the hardest. “In these areas, some remote parts have been cut off, making it impossible to undertake any rescue operation,” said Nigam. Besides displacing people and destroying nearly 16,000 homes, the floods have also damaged crops worth crores of rupees. Over 2.5 lakh people are in relief camps in Patashpur, Egra and Bhagabanpur in East Midnapore.

The Met Department has predicted another 24 hours of heavy rainfall in East and West Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas.

A country under water

•z Heavy rain has triggered landslides leading to death of a woman and injuring three others in Assam. The continuous showers have submerged most areas of Guwahati. Eight lakh people are still reeling under the swirling waters that have claimed 22 lives. “It is a fact that we have been tackling floods with only ad-hoc measures,” said Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi at a press conference, adding that the state Government took steps only after the floods had occurred.

•z In Orissa, at least five persons have died while 10 lakh people in 900 villages are reeling under the flood fury. The Orissa Government has sought more helicopters from the defence ministry to step up relief operations in inaccessible areas. With trains cancelled and air tickets not available, thousands of tourists are stranded in Puri.

•z Four trains on the South Western Railway were cancelled and one was rescheduled due to floods in Kharagpur- Bhadrak Section.

•z Even the northern region has not remained unaffected, with two youths being washed away by flash floods in Jammu on Friday.

•z Ten persons, including two pilgrims, were killed due to heavy rain and landslides in Uttarakhand that also disrupted the Gangotri yatra. Hundreds of pilgrims are stranded at the Gangotri shrine.