Kolkata: The overall situation today improved further in the flood-hit six districts of north West Bengal as no major rainfall was recorded in the past three days in the region.
There was no report of any death in the last 24 hours, a senior official of the West Bengal Disaster Management department said, adding authorities were closely monitoring the situation as the water was receding in several areas, putting them at risk of water-borne diseases.
So far 55 people have died in the floods since July 21.
Nearly 55 lakh people have been hit by the floods in the districts of Cooch Behar, South Dinajpur, North Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Malda.
Around 75,202 houses have been destroyed and 2,15,762 damaged in the flood, officials said.
“Water has receded in several areas following which people are returning home from relief shelters. We are trying to help them with relief materials like food, rice, cooked food, medicines, drinking water in pouches,” the officer said.
Shops and markets are slowly opening and people are trying to resume normal life, he said.
“This is a very crucial stage where we need to be very cautious. When water recedes, it leads to the outbreak of water-borne diseases. Our department is keeping an eye on the situation,” the officer said.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee left for Malda to take stock of the flood situation.
Train services to north Bengal beyond Malda from Howrah and Sealdah stations remained suspended for the eighth consecutive day today, an Eastern Railway spokesman said.
Train service to Assam from West Bengal has also been affected due to the flood in north Bengal.
Since Saturday, the state government has been plying 41 pairs of buses to and from various destinations in the six districts of north Bengal.
Trucks carrying both perishable and non-perishable items were stranded between Farakka and Omarpur on the NH-34 because of the floods.
—PTI