Raiganj, July 10 -- Continuous showers over the past two days have caused the water level of the Nagar River to rise sharply, leading to flooding in the Nona River, a tributary of the Nagar, in the Raiganj block of North Dinajpur district. The overflowing river has inundated more than ten villages, including Gopalpur, Tajpur, Fulihar, Mahanpur and Jagdishpur under Bhatol Gram Panchayat, causing severe hardship to over one lakh residents.
A bridge over the Nona River has gone under knee-deep water, snapping road communication between the affected villages. Residents are now forced to travel to Raiganj town through an alternative route nearly five kilometres longer than the usual route. Large stretches of paddy fields have also been submerged, raising fears of extensive crop damage.
Jahid Ali, a resident of Tajpur, alleged that repeated appeals had been made to the then MLA and former Minister of State for School Education, Government of West Bengal, Satyajit Barman, to rebuild the bridge, but no action was taken. "The bridge has submerged again, cutting off communication among the villages and leaving farmers in distress," he said.
Yusuf Ali, Upapradhan of Bhatol Gram Panchayat, said the mouth of the Nona River had become clogged with dumped garbage, obstructing the natural flow of water. He added that steps have been initiated to clear the blockage and the matter has been brought to the attention of block administration officials.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.