Cyclone Dana spares Bengal major damage; government stays alert

Kolkata, Oct 25 (PTI) While Severe Cyclone Dana spared West Bengal from largescale destruction unlike previous storms like Amphan and Bulbul, it breached embankments and brought torrential rains, causing considerable property damage in the southern areas, keeping the administration on high alert even after the storm passed on Friday morning.

At an administrative review meeting after the cyclone, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said one person died in the aftermath of the storm, even though the administration had evacuated around 2.16 lakh people from low-lying areas in advance.

Banerjee, who spent the night at the state secretariat to monitor the cyclone's impact, directed officials to ensure that relief materials reached all those affected by the calamity.

"Only one person died in this natural disaster. The man died at his residence while doing some cable-related work. It is quite unfortunate. Post-mortem examination will give us a clearer picture. If required, we (state government) will help the family," she said.

Referring to a survey by the agricultural department following the recent floods in the state, she directed officials to initiate another survey of farmlands to find out the degree of damage caused by Cyclone Dana.

The CM asked them to prepare a list of the damaged agricultural land to help farmers get money from crop insurance.

She also said NDRF and SDRF teams should remain at their respective areas of deployment for 48 hours.

As predicted by the Met, the coastal districts of Purba Medinipur and South 24 Parganas experienced the worst impact of the storm. Initial estimates from the district administration indicate that approximately 350-400 kutcha dwellings were damaged in Purba Medinipur, along with around 250 uprooted trees and 175 downed electricity poles.

In South 24 Parganas, multiple reports indicated that mud embankments were breached by seawater. Initial estimates from the administration reveal that nearly 300 kutcha houses were damaged and around 50 electricity poles were uprooted across the district during the storm.

The Kapil Muni temple premises in Gangasagar was thoroughly inundated after sea water gushed in. Several trees were uprooted in Sagar Island and low-lying areas were flooded as water levels rose up to a metre due to the subsequent high tide.

Cyclone Dana is also likely to have severely impacted agriculture, particularly rice cultivation, as extensive areas of paddy fields were flattened and mature crops were submerged in water.

Farmers in Paschim Medinipur and other affected areas, who already faced losses from the recent flooding, expressed concern over the additional damage caused by the cyclone.

Meanwhile, large parts of Kolkata faced severe waterlogging well past the afternoon hours on Friday as the cyclone brought torrential rain in its wake, inundating areas across the city.

According to the regional Met office in Alipore, Kolkata recorded over 100 mm of rainfall by 11:30 am on Friday over the previous 24 hours.

Knee-deep water in several thoroughfares across south and central parts of the city disrupted traffic in areas such as Bhawanipur, Lake Gardens, New Market, Hazra, Dharmatala, and Behala.

Additional reports of waterlogging came from Thanthania Kalibari, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bowbazar, VIP Road, Park Circus, Dum Dum, and various parts of New Town in the northern and eastern regions of the city.

Significant flooding was also seen inside the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) headquarters, while patients, staff and health workers were found wading through ankle-deep water at SSKM Hospital, one of the state's primary referral hospitals, causing major inconvenience to visitors and triggering apprehensions of spread of water-borne infections.

Rainwater accumulation was also noticed at the OPD wing of the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, another state-run tertiary healthcare facility in the city.

Pumping stations across the city ran in full swing and the KMC deployed suction pumps across localities to clear water.

Mayor Firhad Hakim, who also monitored the situation overnight from the KMC control room, noted that the high tide in the Hooghly River and incessant rainfall may slow down drainage efforts.

Despite a scheduled working day, streets of the city looked largely deserted with people preferring to stay indoors as precaution against further predictions of heavy showers during the day.

Besides Kolkata, large pockets of southern Bengal also received significant amounts of overnight downpour.

Till 8.30 am, Diamond Harbour and Sagar Island in South 24 Parganas received 93 mm and 89.6 mm rainfall respectively, the Met office said.

In Purba Medinipur, Kalaikunda received 90.6 mm rains till 8.30 over the past 24 hours.

The weather office forecast heavy to very heavy rain in Purba Medinipur, North and South 24 Parganas, Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Purulia and Bankura districts on Friday, while extremely heavy rain is likely in Paschim Medinipur and Jhargram districts.

Dana, which completed the landfall process in neighbouring Odisha this morning, weakened further into a deep depression by Friday afternoon.

Flight operations resumed at Kolkata airport from 8 am after remaining suspended for nearly 14 hours. Train services on the south section of Sealdah Division under Eastern Railway resumed at 10 am after scheduled cancellations due to the cyclone, officials said.

Ferry services on Hooghly River, though, were yet to resume till reports last received. PTI