Malda residents’ home away from home

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 2 SEPT: Residents of nearly 1,000 families of Malda are still in distress as return to their respective homes remains an uncertainty still. The reason: The district administration has not been able to clear the stagnant flood water in Debipur gram panchayat areas in Ratua block yet.

On the night of 23 August more than 1,230 families had to leave home as the Fulohar washed away large parts of Debipur gram panchayat area. While most are putting up in flood shelters set up by the district administration, a few of them are residing in makeshift shelters. Fewer still have been able to return to their places since yesterday.

Though the administration has decided to flatten the embankments near Balupur to facilitate the drainaige of the stagnant waters of river Baromasia, the plan could not be executed owing to resistance put up by villagers.

Finally, the district administration had to seek permission from the PWD officials and then assign the Public Health Engineering department (PHE) to clear the water by setting up pipelines from under the road.

But after visiting the site at Makaia village, the PHE officials informed the district magistrate, Mr Sridhar Ghosh, that the present situation there was not suitable for draining out the huge volume of water through the pipelines.

“If we set up pipes under the roads, the water pressure can easily erode them away. We have to wait for few days to let the water level come down,” said Mr Swapan Maitra, executive engineer, PHE.

However, water is still trickling from the point where the guard wall was washed away at Bhaluka Bazaar in Harishchandrapur on 23 August.

The irrigation officials are working to build another guard wall at Bhaluka Bazaar spending Rs 1 crore to protect the nearby villages from the next spell of flood. “We do not know when all the families who have been rendered homeless can come back to their homes,” said the Chanchal SDO, Miss Debjani Datta.

“First we need to block the point from where water is still gushing into the villages. Then only our effort of draining out stagnant flood water will be fruitful. During all these days we will be supplying relief to the flood victims,” she added.

Rabies kills one

MALDA, 2 SEPT: Pir Muhammad (45), a resident of Khokra, Harishchandrapur died today of suspected rabies. Another hydrophobia victim Hetu Sheikh was referred to Malda district hospital from Chanchal today. Panic prevails in the Harishchandrapur villages after Pir Muhammad's death as the dog that bit him also bit about 35 persons including two school students between 3 and 10 August. SNS