Mamata to visit North Bengal today for post-flood, landslide review

Kolkata, Nov 10 (ANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will visit North Bengal on Monday to review the situation in the hills, Terai and Dooars, which were hit by severe floods and landslides last month, leaving nearly 40 people dead.

The Chief Minister will reach Bagdogra Airport this afternoon and will proceed straight to Uttarkanya, the principal state administration office for North Bengal in Siliguri of Darjeeling district.

At Uttarkanya, she will chair the first administrative review meeting later in the day. The District Magistrate and elected Trinamool Congress public representatives of the flood and landslide-affected districts in North Bengal, namely Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, and Cooch Behar, will also be present at the administrative review meeting.

A senior official from the state secretariat, Nabanna, said that around 12,000 families affected by the flood and landslides in these districts will receive assistance from the state government for the reconstruction of their houses.

At the same time, each affected family will be provided compensation of Rs 1.20 lakh.

There is also a possibility that the Chief Minister will inaugurate an industrial plant in the Darjeeling district during her stay there, the Nabanna official said.

The Chief Minister visited North Bengal last month when she reviewed the situation in the flood and landslide-affected areas. Before coming back to Kolkata last month, she announced that she would come to North Bengal again in November and would make a fresh review of the situation and the progress of rehabilitation.

Around 40 people were reportedly killed in the flood and landslides in North Bengal last month.

Post-disaster, concerns were raised over alleged state inaction on central reports highlighting rapid loss of forest cover in the Darjeeling hills since 2011 — a key factor linked to recurring landslides and floods in the region.

Last month, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) sought a report from both the Union and the West Bengal governments regarding the frequent landslides in the hills of North Bengal, which disrupt normal life on a regular basis throughout the year.

–IANS

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