West Bengal floods: People return to their homes as situation improves; train tracks still inundated

Kolkata: People have started returning to their homes in the six water-ravaged districts of north Bengal, as the flood situation further improved on Tuesday in absence of major rainfall in the region. [caption id=“attachment_3941525” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] There was no report of any fresh death in the flood-hit districts of Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Coochbehar, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur and Malda, an official said. Floods in West Bengal have claimed 152 lives so far and affected around 1.5 crore people, even as the state has suffered a loss of around Rs 14,000 crore due to the deluge, according to the state government. “Water has started receding from the flood-hit areas in these districts and people are returning home. Situation is improving everyday,” an official said at the state secretariat on Tuesday. The affected districts were being constantly monitored and medical officers being sent to each household to provide necessary medication to children to guard them against bacterial infections in the aftermath of the floods, he added. Train services remained suspended in the region as rail tracks continued to be inundated.