West Bengal: NDRF, Army called in six districts as flood situation worsens

"Incessant rains for the last couple of days has inundated major portions of South Bengal and some areas of central Bengal and the release of water by DVC has added to woes leading to flooding in at least seven districts of the state," a senior official of the state secretariat said.

Kolkata: Incessant rainfall coupled with the sudden release of water by the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) has led to a flood-like situation in six districts of West Bengal and the situation was such that the Army and NDRF had to be called in to assist the state government in the rescue operation.

Chief Secretary H.K. Diwedi held an emergency meeting with the District Magistrates and Superintendent of Polices of West and East Burdwan, Bankura, Birbhum, Hooghly, and Howrah on Thursday evening and took stock of the situation. After that the state government decided to deploy the Army in certain areas. However, NDRF teams have been kept on standby.

According to highly placed sources in the state government, eight companies of the army have been deployed so far with three companies each for West Burdwan and Howrah and two companies for Hooghly`s Khanakul and Arambagh area. This is for the second time that the Army has been called in to assist in the rescue operation.