People of Baleswar may have to go through the ordeal of another flood if the depression-triggered rains continue to lash the district as it has been doing for the past three days.
The level of water in different rivers flowing through the district, including Subaranarekha, Budhabalanga and Jalka is increasing every hour, sources said, adding Jalka was recorded 6 metres flowing over the danger level of 5.5 metres near Mathani. Meanwhile, the death toll due to the twin calamities has risen to 18 with reports of two more casualties today. Both the persons died due to collapse of walls, sources said.
The deceased have been identified as Sumati Singh (42) under Industrial police station and lipi Singh (4) under Ganeswarpur, Remuna. The younger sister and mother of lipi too have received injuries in the wall collapse. The incessant raining has also put spanner in the rescue and relief operations in the district, where about 11 lakh population have been affected by the recent flood.
Till Wednesday, around Rs 2.35 crore cash, 22,000 polythene sheets and 20,000 quintals of rice had been distributed in the affected areas, official sources said. Reports of discontentment are also pouring in from several parts of the district over alleged irregularities in relief distribution. It has also led to agitation at some places.On Thursday, NH-60 was blocked by the irate flood-hit victims near Nagram for about three hours alleging that the affected people in Odongi gram panchayat were not given relief material.
“The relief materials are being distributed among the influential and well-to-do people, while the poor and needy are being deprived of it. People engaged in relief work are biased on political affiliations,” the victims alleged. “Neither have we got any relief materials nor have any officials come to see the situation in our villages,” the villagers alleged.