Malda, Sept. 11 -- A youth drowned in floodwaters in Bhutni on Friday, becoming the second flood-related death in the area. The deceased was identified as Anikul Haque, 19, of Naziruddin Tola under North Chandipur Gram Panchayat.
According to local residents, Anikul was walking along a village road when he accidentally fell into a water-filled roadside ditch. With no one nearby, he drowned. Bhutni police later reached the spot by boat and recovered the body. The incident occurred as a senior district team toured Bhutni by boat to assess the situation and distribute relief.
District Magistrate Rajanvir Singh Kapur, IG, North Bengal Sukesh Jain, SP Anupam Singh and BDO Abhishek Chaudhary visited affected areas with the NDRF.
"Relief distribution is continuing and teams have been deployed to evacuate people from affected areas. NDRF personnel are also being used for rescue operations," Kapur said.
Meanwhile, at Panchanandapur in Kaliachak-II, a crack near the ferry ghat embankment has raised concern and panic, with water seeping through the vulnerable stretch. Irrigation Department workers have been deployed and sandbags placed to protect the embankment. Floodwaters continued to threaten Malda as around 43 villages under Mahanandatola and Bilaimari gram panchayats in Ratua-I are inundated, leaving thousands of families marooned. Ganga was flowing at 26.09 meters at 3 pm which was above extreme danger level by 79 centimetres.
"Water has entered our house, forcing us to take shelter on the embankment with our family and cattle. Many families are waiting for relief," said Panchami Chowdhury of Godai Maharajpur. Residents reported shortages of drinking water, electricity and relief.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.