Malda flood situation worsens, toll rises to 4

Malda (WB), Aug 27 (PTI) The flood situation in Maldaworsened today with two fresh deaths being reported fromKaliachak III block, taking the toll due to floods to four inthe district. Two-year-old Noor Alam of Deonapur and Ajmal Sheikh (8)of Sobhapur got drowned in flood water today, AdditionalDistrict Magistrate Kanchan Chowdhury said. Two more children have died in the district sinceThursday. Of the four flood-related deaths, three were reportedfrom Kaliachak III and one was from Manikchak block. Meanwhile, District Magistrate Sharad Dwivedi said atleast 5,558 families of 45 villages of four blocks wereinundated due to rising Ganga water, while the number ofaffected villages was 40 yesterday. Dwivedi said 45 villages of Manikchak, Kaliachak II,Kaliachak III and Ratua I blocks were under water which isflowing 48 cm above the extreme danger level at Manikchak. However, the rate of rise in water has decreased and isexpected to be steady, as per information from the CentralWater Commission. Two NDRF teams are working in Malda district, the DMsaid, adding a control room has been opened to look into theflood situation round the clock. The phone number of the control room is 03512-252056, hesaid. The ADM said the administration has been operating fiverelief camps where around 1,000 families have taken shelter.PTI COR NNIKA