Kolkata, Aug. 17 -- Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal on Monday held a virtual meeting with district magistrates of areas affected by severe waterlogging and issued necessary directives to address the situation.

State Urban and Municipal Affairs minister Agnimitra Paul visited the waterlogged areas of Haldia and later spoke to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari over the situation.

Paul said the state government had already released Rs 1 crore to the disaster management department to deal with the situation.

She said the East Midnapore district administration had been instructed to ensure that people do not stay in mud houses amid the prevailing conditions.

Paul also held a meeting with administrative officials in Haldia, visited relief centres and interacted with affected residents.

During the virtual meeting, the Chief Secretary sought a detailed report from the East Midnapore district magistrate on the waterlogging situation. DMs of West Midnapore, East Burdwan, Jhargram and Hooghly also briefed the CS on the situation in their respective districts.

The CS directed the disaster management department secretary to send teams to the affected areas and said NDRF teams would be deployed if required. A team of senior officials will be sent to both East and West Midnapore. The situation will also be monitored through

control rooms.

The state government has placed special focus on Patashpur and Haldia, among the worst-affected areas. The East Midnapore DM has been directed to ensure adequate relief supplies reach affected areas, while the Chief Secretary ordered officials to drain accumulated water using pumps.

Around 80 relief centres have been made operational in Haldia, with relief materials being supplied to them.

Haldia has received more than 552mm of rain over the past five days, inundating several industrial areas. NDRF teams have also been deployed in Haldia.

"Chief Minister has sent us to inspect the situation. The PWD principal secretary is also here. An NDRF team is working, while boats are being hired from local fishermen. Bringing boats from Kolkata will take time," Paul said during her visit to Haldia.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.