North Bengal landslides: DMs exempted from attending SIR review meet on Wednesday

Kolkata, Oct 6 (IANS) Amid the ongoing crisis in the hills, Terai and Dooars areas in North Bengal following heavy rainfall and frequent landslides during the last couple of days, the District Magistrates from the region have been exempted from attending the crucial meeting convened at the office of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Wednesday to review preparedness for Election Commission of India (ECI)’s special intensive revision in the state.

An insider from the CEO’s office said, besides the District Magistrates, who are also the District Electoral Officials, their subordinate officials, who had also been assigned electoral duties, have been excused from attending the meeting.

It has been decided that the central ECI team and the CEO of the state will hold a virtual meeting with the District Magistrates and their subordinate officials from these districts separately later in the month, once the situation in those districts improves.

“The District Magistrates and other administrative officials from the North Bengal districts have been excused from attending the meeting so they could concentrate on post-disaster rescue, relief, rehabilitation, and other related activities at their respective districts,” said a CEO’s office insider.

The crucial meeting at the CEO’s office on Wednesday is to be chaired by Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti. He is scheduled to reach Kolkata on the night of October 7, accompanied by ECI’s Director General (Information Technology) and other senior officials of the Commission.

On October 8, they will conduct the crucial review meeting, which is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. On October 9, the team of senior ECI officials is expected to visit certain districts and interact directly with the district-level electoral officials.

Till Monday morning, the official death figure because of rain and landslides has reached 23, as per the figures compiled by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the district administrations in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will leave for North Bengal later in the day to take stock of the situation.

Raj Bhavan in Kolkata has set up a rapid action cell within the Governor’s House premises to quickly address the clarion call from the people and tourists trapped in the disaster-affected areas.

–IANS

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