Disaster management department officials said due to little rainfall in the districts, the flood situation has improved to some extent.
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Steps were also being taken to protect the affected people from health hazards, while medicines and drinking water pouches were being distributed, sources said.
The Chief Minister, who stayed at state secretariat Nabanna overnight to personally monitor the flood situation, handed over relief package to flood and storm-affected people who had taken shelter in the school.
The death toll in rain related incidents has gone up to 85.
“The flooding in Hooghly and Howrah districts have worsened and will deteriorate a bit further as DVC (Damodar Valley Corporation) has released more water“, she said. I have already spoken to Union minister Piyush Goyal regarding this. Dredging is necessary. DVC needs modernisation and dredging work needs to be carried out. Congress leader Adhir Chaudhury said even if the chief minister opts for hunger strike she can not change the bleak reality. “I am going to seek relief funds from the Centre and submit a report to the Prime Minister”.
Besides flood, the area was hit by a major storm last week in which many houses were damaged. “I shall raise this issue during my meeting with the prime minister”, Banerjee said, adding that 12 of the 20 districts in Bengal are affected by floods. Fifty three municipalities, two municipal corporations have also been hit due to the flood.
At least 3.6 lakh people have been sheltered in 2,213 relief camps, but there were complaints from the inundated villages of lack of relief materials.
Informing that crops in 7,97,848 hectares of land had been destroyed by the flood, Ms Banerjee said, “The Centre must give financial aid to these farmers in addition to the assistance being provided by the state government”.
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Meanwhile, the chief minister informed that the DMs and SPs have been asked to prepare detailed report on the damages so that compensations could be paid as soon as possible.
