- By Aashish Vashistha
- Mon, 02 Oct 2023 08:39 PM (IST)
- Source:PTI
The West Bengal government on Monday issued a flood alert in seven districts of the state amid continuous rainfall in the upper catchment areas of neighbouring Jharkhand.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked the officials to identify low-lying and flood-prone areas of the district and initiate the process of evacuation of people to a safer location.
An urgent virtual meeting was held with senior officials of the districts of Paschim Bardhaman, Bankura, Birbhum, Purba Bardhaman, Hooghly, Paschim Medinipur, and Howrah, where Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi was also present, as reported by news agency PTI.
“During the meeting, the chief secretary directed all District Magistrates and SPs to immediately identify low-lying and flood-prone areas as well as start monitoring waterlogging and embankment breaches and take proper steps for their remedies,” read the official statement.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday said that a low-pressure area of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh is likely to cause heavy rains in several districts of the state till October 5.
The Meteorological department has predicted heavy rain in the coastal districts of South 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur till October 4, besides Paschim Bardhaman, Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Purulia, Bankura, Birbhum and Murshidabad districts.
The weather department said that Kolkata has received the highest rainfall in the state at 40.6 mm in the past 24 hours, followed by 36 mm of rain in Sriniketan.
The MeT office has also warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the northern districts of Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, and Alipurduar, and heavy rain in the other sub-Himalayan districts.
