Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday embarked upon an aerial survey of the submerged areas as nearly 2.2 million people in six South Bengal districts and their neighbourhoods have been severely affected following the discharge of water from four dams, including DVC.
Army has been deployed to assist the civil administration.
Though the water release was reduced from DVC, Mython, Panchet and Tilpara, the woe of the marooned people continued to remain grim after surging waters inundated more areas of Ghatal in Medinipur, Nano or in Birbhum and vast areas of Bankura district.
Police rescued and evacuated a pregnant woman, who was rushed to a hospital, about three km by a speedboat for delivery in the wee hours today.
Small and medium-sized boats are the only mode of transportation in hundreds of villages across the six affected districts, including Howrah, Hooghly, West Bardhaman and Birbhum, where NDRF personnel have already been deployed to rescue the marooned people.
While three-column of Army each have been deployed in West Bardhaman and Hooghly, the remaining two-column have been pressed into service in Howrah district.
Of the 2.2 million people affected, four lakh people have been evacuated to safer places and 1.5 lakh people have been given shelter in temporary camps, set up by the district administration.
So far two people, including a four-year-old boy, have died, in Ghatal.
Nearly 200 boats have been pressed into the service.
Yesterday Ms Banerjee accused the DVC of discharging water without prior information to the state.
She also came down heavily on Bihar and Jharkhand for this deteriorating condition in the state and described the situation as ”man-made”.
