Children carrying drinking water through the floodwater at Panchanandapur. Picture by Surajit Roy

Malda, Sept. 16: The district administration worried over a possible outbreak in enteric diseases in the flood-hit areas even as the flood situation continued to remain grim with five more villages in Manikchak block going under the surging Ganga.

The river today flowed at 78 cm above the extreme danger level. According to official sources, the water level rose 8 cm in the last 24 hours. More than 3,000 people in five villages have been shifted to safer areas.

On the other hand, Nazirpur gram panchayat area has been flooded after the Phulhar merged with the Kalindi.

“There is an acute shortage of safe drinking water in the flooded areas. We are really worried about the possibility of an outbreak of enteric diseases any moment. The block medical officers have been asked to remain alert,” block development officer of Manikchak Abhijit Mukherjee said.

The floodwater, carrying the animal carcasses, is being used to wash utensils and clothes by villagers, increasing the possibility.

According to Mukherjee, the villages are under waist-deep water and more than 100 villages have been flooded in Kaliachak block alone.

The floodwaters started gushing into villages like Jitmanpur, Haripur, Bhitaharipur and Mahabatpur since Sunday morning. But the block headquarters came to know about it only yesterday.

“The situation is really terrible. People are being forced to live on embankments with no roofs over their head,” Mukherjee said.

“There is no dry space to even cremate the dead. I had to let my mother’s body float away on a raft because I could not find a place to bury her,” said Surendra Roy, an employee of the panchayat department and a resident of Mahanandatola.

Residents of three more villagers have been flooded out by water entering from the Bangladesh side.

A boat has been plying in the block to ferry passengers, causing anger among the villagers.

“Reaching the flood-hit people has become a real problem for us. The situation is far worse than last year,” said Mukherjee.

So far, 55 quintals of rice and 450 tarpaulin sheets have been distributed among the affected families.

Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today reiterated that the Centre was not taking the flood situation in Malda seriously. “The report of the technical committee set up by the Centre on control of erosion along the banks of Ganga had been submitted long ago but the Centre is not taking up the matter,” he said.

State relief minister Hafiz Alam Sairani today submitted the report on the flood-ravaged district to the chief minister.