Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh each for the kin of the eight people who died in flash floods during immersion of Durga Puja idols in River Mal in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district on Wednesday evening.
Eight persons died in a flash flood during immersion of Durga Puja idols in West Bengal Jalpaiguri district on Wednesday evening.
“₹2 lakh from PMNRF [Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund] would be given to the next of kin of each of the deceased in the tragic mishap during Durga Puja festivities in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal. The injured would be given ₹50,000,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a tweet.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while pointing out that eight people lost their lives, said that 13 people are undergoing treatment at Mal Super Speciality Hospital. “Search and rescue operations by NDRF and SDRF are still under way. Around 70 people were saved by the efforts of the police, Civil Defence Volunteers and local youth. I commend their selfless service,” the Chief Minister tweeted.
Rescue operations were carried out in the river by disaster management teams on Thursday. Though locals have claimed that a few people were missing after the floods, no bodies were recovered from the river on the day even as teams of disaster management searched large areas. The State Government has sought a report from the district administration over the matter.
In view of the tragedy, the district administration decided to call off the Durga Puja Carnival in Jalpaiguri scheduled for Saturday. The flash floods occurred on River Mal at about 8.30 p.m. on Wednesday when hundreds of people had gathered on the banks of the river for immersion of idols. District Magistrate of Jalpaiguri, Moumita Godara Basu, said there was no local prediction of rainfall and personnel of disaster management were present on the spot when the floods occurred.
Local Trinamool Congress MLA Bulu Chik Bariak said immersion of the idols is held at the spot every year and the water rose suddenly this time because of rainfall in the upper catchment area of the river. Locals from several tea gardens, who had organised Durga Puja, had gathered on the banks of the river on Biijoy Dashami, which marked the conclusion of the five-day Durga Puja festival. Videos of the incident showed people running for higher grounds while some of them were being swept away.
Meanwhile, BJP MP from Alipurduar John Barla, and MLA and party chief whip in the State Assembly Manoj Tigga raised questions on the district administration’s preparations for the event. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, while demanding that the ex-gratia should be given to the family of the deceased be hiked, said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should have personally handed over the compensation to the bereaved families.
