Burdwan/Kharagpur/Tarakeswar/Siliguri: With rainfall easing in the upper catchment areas, Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) on Saturday reduced the volume of water discharge from Maithon and Panchet reservoirs, improving the flood situation in East and West Burdwan and Ghatal in West Midnapore. However, many villages in Hooghly’s Khanakul, Pursurah, Arambag, Goghat, Tarakeswar and Jangipara were freshly inundated.In north Bengal, 33 families comprising 124 people were evacuated after a sudden landslide hit Labarbotay Lower Palzar Gaon in Mirik on Friday night. The landslide triggered panic in the area as residents rushed out of their homes after hearing a loud noise. The affected families were moved to a safer place as a precautionary measure. Darjeeling MP Raju Bista visited the affected area on Saturday along with the DM, DIG, SP and other senior officials.According to DVC officials, 26,000 cusecs of water were released from Maithon and 32,000 cusecs from Panchet on Saturday. Durgapur Barrage discharged 69,825 cusecs of water. The reduction followed a decline in rainfall in Jharkhand and Bihar, where a low-pressure system had triggered heavy rain over the past few days.However, floodwaters have remained stagnant in parts of Ghatal for the past few days. The rising water levels in Silabati and Jhumi rivers have inundated wards 1 to 12 of Ghatal municipality and large parts of several panchayats. Roads, houses and acres of agricultural land remain under water, forcing residents to rely on boats and dinghies for transportation.Large parts of Mansuka-II panchayat in Ghatal block have also been inundated. In Gangaprasad area of Mansuka, dinghy remains the only means of communication. Civil defence personnel used a speedboat to rescue two elderly people who had fallen ill and took them to Ghatal Sub-Divisional Hospital.Ghatal BJP MLA Shital Kapat, sub-divisional officer Ananya Jana, the OC of Ghatal police station and other officials distributed tarpaulins among affected residents in different parts of Ajabnagar-I. “All preparations were made three months before the floods. The administration is keeping a close watch on the situation, while our party workers are also monitoring the affected areas,” Kapat said.In Hooghly’s Khanakul, most villagers were forced to stay in their homes. Minister and Serampore MLA Bhaskar Bhattacharya said: “We have distributed relief materials in the waterlogged areas.”Not only villagers but vast tracts of vegetable fields are also under water. Dinabandhu Adak, a vegetable farmer in Khanakul, said: “We have faced havoc losses in potato farming.”
