Kolkata: Incessant rainfall since Saturday has led to a flood-like situation in and around Balurghat. Lowland areas of Atreyee Colony have been inundated. Around 50 families were drastically hit due to the flood-like conditions. Two-hundred people, including women and minors, were rendered homeless after a sudden spate in river Atreyee and connecting rivers in northern parts of north Bengal and Bangladesh. "Atreyee has been in spate due to heavy showers. Most of the houses located in low land areas were submerged in Atreyee Colony. We have requested the administrative officials to arrange drinking water and food for us," said a local Sujit Sarkar. Around 40 to 50 bighas of agricultural land at Gopalpur in Balurghat block were partly or fully submerged due to the sudden rise in water-level of Atreyee. A large part of Dakra under Chalkvrigu gram panchayat was inundated and 50 families were hit. There was flood conditions in Kumarganj, Gangarampur and Hili due to the spate in Punarbhava and Tangan. Approximately, 150 families were affected. According to the irrigation department officials, the rate of receding trend is very low because almost all rivers are still in spate due to continuous rainfall in north Bengal and Bangladesh. Senior district administrative officials and district irrigation department officials feel the situation may turn critical if the region receives further heavy rainfall in the next 48 hours. "The situation may deteriorate further if the region receives more rains in the next 48 hours," said an irrigation officer. According to sources, rivers Tangan and Punarbhaba have damaged banks and embankments in several parts of Gangarampur and Kushmandi. Both the rivers have changed its course in different areas, owing to heavy silt deposits in riverbeds, damaging existing flood protection works. People residing close to rivers have been alerted about the rise in water-level. Residents have also been advised to avoid venturing into rivers Punarbhaba and Atreyee due to the heavy current in water. Balurghat municipal authority has taken measures to tackle the situation. The affected families were shifted to Utsab Bhavan and they were provided drinking water.

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