(source : ANI) ( Photo Credit : ani)
West Bengal’s Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, traveled to North Bengal on Monday to assess the damage from recent floods and to meet with families left homeless. She announced a Rs 5 lakh ex‑gratia payment for every family that lost a member and will offer a special Homeguard job to a relative of each deceased. The gesture comes as the state works to provide full support for the victims.
The CM, matched with her Chief Secretary, flew into the affected region and met with local officials. “We’re staying in North Bengal for two days to see the rescue and restoration work firsthand,” Banerjee said in a post on X. She added that ministers and political representatives are already in place, especially in the hardest‑hit areas, and that the police and administration are actively conducting rescue operations.
To keep people fed while homes are cleared, the state opened community kitchens across the flood zones. Transport officials say the North Bengal State Transport Corporation and other buses have been dispatched to evacuate stranded tourists. “We’ve moved about 500 tourists in 45 Volvo and other long‑distance buses,” Banerjee told a press conference in Kolkata.
In addition, the CM criticized the central government for failing to carry out proper dredging and desilting work on the Ganga‑Hugli river, which she said made the floods worse. She said that if the federal government had cleaned key points and used Central Waterway Project money on public works in West Bengal instead of “other unrelated pursuits,” the extended damage could have been avoided.
Local authorities have been documenting the toll: at least 18 people died in Dotore in Darjeeling after continuous rain hit the area on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Separate reports indicated 11 deaths in Mirik, four in Jorebunglow, two in Sukhia Pokhari, and one in Darjeeling Sadar—all because of heavy downpours that battered the state.
The CM’s team has been working around the clock to rescue the displaced, and the authorities say the last person missing in Diamond Harbour is being located. While the central government has remained quiet on flood management, Banerjee’s personal involvement underlines the state’s commitment to preventing further loss of life and rebuilding damaged communities.
Source: aninews
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