Bengal rain toll jumps to 50 (The Hindi 23 August 2011)

No relief in sight: Flood victims waiting to collect drinking water in a flooded locality at Ratua in Malda district of West Bengal over the weekend.
Although the rains have subsided in South Bengal, the death trail gets longer and has more than doubled over a week with 50 people succumbing to snakebites, house collapses, drowning and lightning in 15 districts of West Bengal, said an official release on Monday.
The second battalion of the National Disaster Response Force has been deployed in Udaynarainpur in Howrah. State Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had visited this place last week, after which she asked her ministers and legislators to fan out across the affected areas to do everything possible to relieve the people's sufferings.
Discharge of water
Water-discharge from the Damodar Valley Corporation and other dams continues. The Government has said that around 35,000 cusecs will be discharged from the Damodar Valley Corporation, 37,000 cusecs from the Durgapur Barrage and 3,000 cusecs from the Kangsabati barrage.
Breaches which had been noticed in some embankments have been repaired. No fresh instances have been reported. Several rivers are flowing above the extreme danger level.
Since last week, the rains have abated in South Bengal, but isolated heavy rainfall has been forecast in the sub-Himalayan areas during the next 24 hours.
Compensation
The State Government, which has declared a Rs. 2 lakh compensation each for the families of the dead, had allotted Rs. 94 lakh for 47 cases till Sunday.
Altogether 42,386 houses have been fully damaged and 1.89 lakh partially, forcing many people out in the open. The government has said that 344 relief camps have been set up and 52,371 affected persons have taken shelter in them.
The Public Health Department has distributed 8.2 lakh water pouches with the scourge of water-borne diseases rearing its head. Mobile water treatments units are also being sent to the various districts. The Family and Welfare Department has deployed 465 medical teams to distribute anti-venom syrups, oral rehydration system sachets, halogen tablets and bleaching powder.