Four persons were killed and over 100 injured as a storm lasting for a few minutes wreaked havoc in parts of Jalpaiguri and other districts of north Bengal on March 31. The deaths were reported in Jalpaiguri town in the storm which was accompanied by hailstorm and heavy rainfall.
“Sad to know that sudden heavy rainfall and stormy winds brought disasters today afternoon in some Jalpaiguri-Mainaguri areas, with loss of human lives, injuries, house damages, uprooting of trees and electricity poles etc. District and block administration, police, DMG and QRT teams swung into disaster management operations and provided relief,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
Ms. Banerjee said that affected people were being shifted to safer places and the district administration would provide compensation to the next of kin in the case of deaths, and the injured as per rules and following the model code of conduct.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also offered his condolences to those who have lost their loved ones and said his “thoughts are with those affected by the storms in Jalpaiguri-Maynaguri areas of West Bengal”.
“Spoke to officials and asked them to ensure proper assistance to those impacted by the heavy rains,” Mr. Modi said, adding that he “would also urge all @BJP4Bengal Karyakartas to assist those affected”.
Warning issued
The districts of Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Coochbehar, where the cyclone created damage, will be going for the polls in the first phase scheduled for April 19. The Regional Meteorological Centre at Alipore in Kolkata had predicted thunderstorms and lightning accompanied by gusty wind (30-40 km) per hour in districts of north Bengal on Sunday. The damage was caused because of the sudden intensity of the hailstorm and several people out in the open and streets suffered injuries.
West Bengal Governor C. V. Ananda Bose also has set up an emergency cell in the Raj Bhavan to deal with the storm in Jalpaiguri. “The Governor is in touch with the Disaster Management Authority in Delhi. He requested the NDMA to rush more reinforcements by way of manpower and materials to Jalpaiguri. The Governor is in touch with the Central Home Ministry. He will camp in Jalpaiguri tomorrow [Monday] and visit ground zero and houses of the victims,” a press statement from the Raj Bhavan said.
The deceased were identified as Dijendra Narayan Sarkar, Anima Burman, Jagen Roy and Samar Roy, all residents of Jalpaiguri.
