By IANS,
Kolkata : As many as 40,000 people were affected as large parts of Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling districts of north Bengal remain submerged with all the rivers overflowing in the incessant rains, a district official said Monday.
“All the river s in the district are flowing above the danger level. Till now we have rescued nearly 3,000 families from various parts of the district,” said Jalpaiguri District Magistrate Smaraki Mahapatra.
“Nearly 40,000 people have been affected by the flood-like situation in the two districts,” said Mahapatra adding that the administration is keeping a vigil on the situation and has urged people living in low-lying areas to move to safe areas.
Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) stationed in the district have been kept on alert and the administration will take their expertise in further rescue operations, said Mahapatra.
Red alert has been sounded from Domohani to Mekhliganj on the bank of Teesta, where the river enters Bangladesh in the Jalpaiguri district. The Torsa and Jaldhaka rivers are al so flowing above the danger mark.
Many houses in Mainagudi, Dhupgudi and Rajganj in Jalpaigudi district remained submerged. Certain areas in the district have been completely cut off and the administration is unable to send relief materials there.
With the embankment of river Mahananda caving in, several parts of Siliguri subdivision in Darjeeling district remained inundated. Over 2,000 families have been affected due to t he floods, a district official said.
State Irrigation Minister Manas Bhunia and North Bengal Development Minister Gautam Deb visited some areas in the two districts affected by floods.