SEPT 24: Some 50,000 Bangladeshi villagers were left homeless after flood waters from West Bengal inundated 30 villages along the western frontier, media reported Sunday. There was no immediate official comment, but The Daily Star, quoting local agencies and administration officials said vast areas of the Meherpur district were under water.Officials said the Kharia river, in the bordering Indian district of Nadia, had overflowed Friday and its waters were continuing to rush into Bangladesh. The onrush had forced 50,000 people to flee their homes and flooded at least 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) of crops, the paper said, quoting district officials in Meherpur, 182 kilometers (114 miles) West of Dhaka.Local residents blamed Indian district officials for the severity of the flooding. They said that the sluice-gates of the rivers Jalangi, Bhagirathi, Mahananda and Kharia, on the Indian side, had been opended and a flood protection road cut, allowing the swelling waters to roll down into Bangladesh.here were no reported casualties in Meherpur, the latest Bangladeshi district to be hit by intermittent flash floods in recent months. Reports from Calcutta, the capital of West Bengal, had said that 180 people had died over the last five days and that the rising waters had blocked relief efforts for up to 10 million affected villagers. Road and rail access to eight affected districts, including Nadia, had been almost completely cut off, with millions of marooned villagers relying on helicopter drops for food.In recent rain-triggered floodings and localised storms in western and central Bangladesh, at least seven people have been killed and thousands forced to abandon their homes. Optimism was renewed Friday when the monsoon rains appeared to be slowing. Flash floods killed more than 30 people last month with thousands affected nationwide.
