The Ministry of Home Affairs has established an Inter-Ministerial Central Team to assess the damage inflicted by the flood in Sikkim state.
Photo Credit: via Reuters
The release of both installments of the Central share of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to flood in Sikkim, totaling 44.80 crores in advance for the year 2023–2024, has been approved by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in order to assist the State in providing relief measures to those affected by the flash floods in the State.
The number of dead from the flood in Sikkim increased to 21 on Friday as Army and NDRF staff spent a third day searching for people who were carried away and are still missing in the Teesta river basin and downstream north Bengal, officials said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs established an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), which will soon travel to the areas of the State affected by the glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF), cloud burst, and flash floods to examine the damages inflicted.
Additional Central assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to Sikkim will be approved in accordance with the established procedure based on the IMCT’s assessment.
After the flash flood that was caused by a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim early on Wednesday, 103 people—including the 15 Army soldiers—remain unaccounted for.
In the districts of Bankura, Howrah, Hooghly, Paschim Medinipur, Burdwan, and Purulia, the flood has disrupted daily life.
In Bengal’s northern and southern districts, 191 relief camps are currently housing 9,215 people.
Photo Credit: via Reuters