Rains play havoc in east coast states

Over 78,700 people were evacuated from low lying areas to safer places, provided shelter in 178 relief camps

Twenty-nine people have lost their lives in separate incidents and around 4,040 villages across 16 of the 23 districts in Andhra Pradesh have been affected by heavy rains and floods, according to an official report released on Saturday.

Over 78,700 people were evacuated from low-lying areas to safer places and provided shelter in 207 relief camps. The incessant rains, caused by a low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal, had inundated standing crops in 6.78 lakh hectares and breached over 1,020 minor irrigation tanks. As many as 14,978 houses, including 1,628 huts and close to 4.05 kms of roads were damaged, according to the report.

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, at a review meeting on Saturday, asked officials to expedite the process of enumeration related to loss of cattle, crops and property damage for providing ex gratia to the affected families at the earliest.

Rains have also affected life in West Bengal. Three persons were killed as persistent rains for the last 24 hours have thrown normal life out of gear in south Bengal, especially in Kolkata, with reports of water logging at major arterial roads of the city. The city received 14 cm rainfall, the highest rainfall during the ongoing depression in eastern India, sources in the local meteorological office said. Weathermen predicted the rains would continue for at least next 24 hours. Suburban train services in Sealdah were affected due to water logging on the tracks.

Train services from Kolkata station were suspended due to water logging on the tracks till Dum Dum.

Meanwhile, in Odisha, at least 16 people died in flood-related incidents. The situation remained grim even as major rivers were receding on Saturday. Two deaths each were reported from Bhadrak, Jajpur and Nayagarh districts while in worst-hit Ganjam district it remained unchanged at six and four in Jagatsinghpur, Special Relief Commissioner P K Mohapatra told reporters in Bhubaneswar after the situation was reviewed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

“All the deaths were due to wall collapse and drowning,” Mohapatra said. Major rivers like Rusikulya, Godahada and Vansadhara were flowing below the danger mark, he said. The Chief Minister said the incessant rains and floods have caused severe damages to public and private properties and standing crops. He announced three-day relief for the affected people according to provisions under the Relief Code.