From Our Correspondent
TURA: Rescue teams continued to pull bodies out and search for survivors of Tuesday morning’s devastating storm that left a trail of destruction bringing homes down, causing landslides and flooding of low-lying areas as the death toll rose to eight with the recovery of two more bodies washed ashore by the flood waters in Garobadha and Selsella on Wednesday.
The two bodies were washed ashore by flood waters at separate places in Garobadha and Selsella areas of West Garo Hills on Wednesday.
Both the victims were swept away by strong currents of the Ganol and Jinjiram rivers during the flash floods.
Flood waters swept away 66-year-old Abinash Marak of Boiragipara village under Garobadha and 23-year-old Jarbish Sangma of Selsella Dodoretgre village. Their bodies were later recovered down stream.
The search for bodies under collapsed houses due to landslides in Tura continued even as brief showers repeatedly interrupted the rescue attempt for most parts of Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Focus of the rescue attempt in Tura is now centered on Dobakol locality across the BSF sector headquarters in Dobasipara where an entire house has been buried under a huge pile of loose earth.
The body of the house owner Naresh Das (45 years) is yet to be retrieved even as rescue teams from the BSF, fire and emergency service and other natural calamity rescue teams frantically sifted through the huge pile of debris.
The body of a house tenant, Poresh Das, who was also buried alive inside Naresh Das’s house was recovered on Tuesday itself.
West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner, Sanjay Goyal, informed that as many as 3000 people from 12 villages have been affected by the floods in the plain belt region of West Garo Hills and relief in the form of rice, dal and salt are being provided to them. As many as five relief camps have been set up to house the displaced people.
The devastated villages under Selsella development block have been identified as Chibinang (Sarkarpara), Bholarvita East, Bangalkata Muslim, Bangalkata Mann, Borshibandha, Bholarvita West, North Kaimbatapara, Kalapani, Pushkarnipara, Chorbatapara, Haribhanga I and II. Flood waters swept away livestock, destroyed standing crops and brought down dwelling houses by the sheer force ot the water current.
Another relief camp has also been set up in Dobakol upper primary school in Tura town to house twenty people belonging to four families. Relief in the form of rice, dal and salt have reportedly been provided to them.
In the meantime, Goyal on Wednesday evening handed over an ex-gratia amount of Rs 1 lakh each to the families who lost their loved ones.