Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday refuted allegations of administrative negligence while adding that the administration had alerted local residents in the districts of north Bengal hours ahead of the landslides and floods, caused by extremely heavy rainfall since Saturday late night.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee visits a flood-affected area, at Nagrakata in Jalpaiguri district, on Monday. (WB CMO) Meanwhile, six more bodies were recovered from Darjeeling, Cooch Behar and Alipurduar since Monday taking the total death toll 33, officials said. This includes the bodies of a Nepali and a Bhutanese citizen swept down by transboundary rivers.
“Many people don’t know that the administration had alerted local residents on Saturday evening hours before the disaster had hit that night. The death toll could have been higher. But many times people refuse to abandon their houses. I had a meeting with the chief secretary and the director general of police around 5 am on Sunday. Before 9 am, disaster management teams had rushed to the spots,” Banerjee said while addressing the media at Siliguri.
While a few people are still missing, several have been injured and a few thousands have been rendered homeless. While search operations are still continuing, relief and restoration work are going on in full swing. Community kitchen and relief camps have been set up in multiple locations. Roads and bridges were being restored.
Allegations of negligence had surfaced as Banerjee attended the Durga Puja carnival in Kolkata on Sunday evening. She left for north Bengal on Monday.
“The first 48 hours after a disaster are crucial for rescue operations. Some people are doing politics as to why the Durga Puja carnival was held in Kolkata on Sunday and why I didn’t rush to north Bengal. Had I rushed to the spot that evening, VIP movement would have hampered the rescue operations. What was the priority at that time? Was it to rescue people or was it to attend VIPs? We reached within 24 hours,” Banerjee said.
Even as Banerjee was visiting flood-hit Mirik on Tuesday, Union minister Kiren Rijiju and Leader of the Opposition in the state legislative assembly
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