M A I N   N E W S

Army rescues 10,000 in Bengal
Flood situation grim in Jharkhand, Orissa

Kolkata/Bhubaneswar, June 19
Army personnel today rescued over 10,000 people in West Bengal’s flood-hit West Midnapore district as water levels of major rivers rose alarmingly in Orissa while flash floods continued to hit Jharkhand.

In Assam, with a slight let-up in the rains, floods were on the wane in worst-hit Lakhimpur district, but nearly eight lakh people continued to be affected by the swirling waters, which had claimed 22 lives.

The Army was deployed in Sabang, Pingla and Narayangarh blocks of West Midnapore where three lakh people were marooned due to the floods, District Magistrate N.S. Nigam said.

So far four persons have died while over 10,000 people have been rescued with many places remaining inaccessible.

In Kolkata, state civil defence minister Srikumar Mukherjee said 15 additional high speed boats have sent to the flood-hit areas of East and West Midnapore districts for relief work. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee held a meeting with Cabinet colleagues and top officials and asked them to take steps to provide succour of flood-hit people.

In Orissa, relief and rescue operations were stepped up with the help of Air Force choppers as over 850 villages remained marooned. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik undertook an aerial survey of flood-hit areas today. The worst hit were Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak and Jajpur districts where water levels of rivers Subarnarekha, Budhabalanga and Jalaka increased susbtantially and flash floods were triggered by depression over the Bay of Bengal.

In Jharkhand, about 2,500 people have been affected due to flash floods that hit East Singhbhum and Sareikela- Kharsawan districts as Chief Minister Madhu Koda made an aerial survey of the affected areas today. — PTI