Tragedy on Dashami in Malbazar
The happiness of Durga Puja turned into tragedy for several families from Malbazar subdivision of Jalpaiguri district yesterday (Wednesday) night. As people, many having come with their families, were busy in the immersion of the idols on the last day of the festival (Dashami) on the bank of the Mal River, a flash flood came and swept away several of them.
Before anyone could react, the flash flood had taken away in its force a few dozen people. As per the latest reports, eight people have been killed, all by drowning, including two children, an eight-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl, and three women.
About 30 to 40 people stuck in the middle of the river were rescued by State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) personnel, said Jalpaiguri District Magistrate Moumita Godara. She also said that immersion activities were suspended at the spot where the flash flood occurred. Rescue operations are still underway. Thirteen people are undergoing treatment at Mal Superspeciality Hospital.
The tragedy occurred around 8.30 pm, and the incident was captured on videos, which went viral. They showed people some people being swept away and some others trying to swim away to safety, while many more were running away from the bank.
Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed grief over the incident through tweets and each announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of the deceased. The chief minister also announced a payment of Rs 50,000 for each of the injured.
The chief minister also tweeted out two helpline numbers, which anyone affected could reach out to. The numbers are 3561230780 and 9073936815.
