Chief minister Mamata Banerjee attended a review meeting on relief work being done in three districts, Alipurduar, Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri, on Sunday.
Officials from districts attended the review meeting, where the chief minister personally heard reports on the prevailing situation and ongoing restoration work.
“Prevent water-borne diseases at any cost,” Mamata reportedly said, stressing the need for swift preventive action and medical preparedness.
The chief minister appreciated officials of all departments for their tireless work during floods.
Alipurduar
District magistrate R. Vimala reported that the Torsha and Rydak rivers had caused major flooding in Alipurduar. “Based on early alerts, we evacuated people living near rivers,” she said.
Vimala informed Mamata that 16km of embankments had been damaged at nearly 50 locations, including a 1km stretch in Salkumar, which caused severe destruction. Mobile camps were held to help flood victims retrieve and replace important documents, the DM added.
According to district officials, 480 houses were damaged, of which 96 were completely destroyed. The administration will provide financial help to the homeless under the Banglar Bari scheme.
Mamata instructed the administration to continue the distribution of drinking water pouches without interruption.
Jalpaiguri
District magistrate Shama Parveen informed the chief minister that the damaged Kalikhola bridge had been restored.
Another official noted that 51 bridges under the gram panchayat and zilla parishad were damaged in the district. Mamata asked for a comprehensive audit of all bridges and said the PWD would handle their reconstruction. She further instructed the forest development corporation to utilise funds from timber sales for necessary
restoration work.
The chief minister expressed concern about elephant incursions in certain areas, directing forest officials to deploy staff to prevent human casualties. “Foresters should ensure proper monitoring so that wild elephants cannot harm people,” she said.
Cooch Behar
The chief minister asked the district magistrate to hold relief and document-recovery camps under the Amar Para, Amader Samadhan programme to assist affected families and those who lost important papers during the floods.
Appreciation
The chief minister thanked all BDOs, police officers and departmental officials for their dedication during the crisis. She asked district magistrates to prepare a list of officers and personnel who worked exceptionally during the flood so that they could be felicitated by the state government.