Workers repair the Pundibari school building that had its roof blown off by the storm. Picture by Main Uddin Chisti

Cooch Behar, April 25: A storm that lashed at Cooch Behar district last evening and continued to rage till late in the night, left more than a thousand homes damaged in its wake.

According to preliminary estimates made by the district administration, over 1,000 homes were destroyed by the squall that ripped away tiled and tin roofs. Unofficially, however, the figure of ravaged households is over 6,000.

Sources in the district administration said entire fields of jute have been flattened and boro paddy, which has just been sown, has also been badly affected.

With trees being uprooted, broken branches fell on overhead electricity and telephone wires, snapping connections. As a result, the communication system collapsed and the entire district suffered power cuts throughout the day.

Two primary schools — one in Pundibari and the other in Tufanganj — have been badly hit with their tin roofs blown away. Classes at the institutions were suspended today as the buildings were repaired, a source said.

The additional district magistrate (general) of Cooch Behar, Pannalal Mahapatra, said reports have been sought on the trail of devastation left by the storm.

“We have asked all the subdivisional officers to send in an assessment of the wreckage caused by the storm,” Mahapatra said.

Though he could not put a value to the losses sustained, the additional district magistrate said relief was being sent to affected families. “We have distributed tarpaulin sheets and dry food and rice to the victims, who have lost almost everything,” said Gyanendra Chandra Chanda, the sabhadhipati of the zilla parishad.

The worst-affected areas, a source in the district administration said, are Tufanganj, Sitai, Mathabhanga and two blocks of Cooch Behar. The sabhadhipati said most of the relief has been sent to those areas. “We have asked the panchayat samities to monitor the distribution of relief material,” Chanda said.