Gusty winds along with heavy rainfall in South Tripura district left one dead and two others injured. Meanwhile, incessant rains that started at Gandachhara under Dhalai district on Tuesday night and continued till Wednesday morning inundated a vast swathe of crop lands along the sides of Sarma River.
In South Tripura, A 21-year-old youth died and two children sustained injuries due to landslides caused by heavy rainfall since Tuesday late night, an official said.
Narayan Bhowmik (21), a daily-wage labourer, died as he was buried under mud following a landslide at the backside of his home located at Satmura area of Sarasima in Belonia. In a similar landslide, the two minor boys- Rasel Miah (12) and Rahim Miah (11) were injured at Jherjheri area of Hrishyamukh.
District Magistrate, South Tripura Saju Vaheed said that the heavy rainfall had affected some parts of the South Tripura district since Wednesday late night damaging crops, causing water-logging and landslips in some places including the Belonia Municipal Council area.
“The rains washed away mud walls of three houses while several other families were affected as the rainwater entered their homes. The three families were shifted to shelter homes. The administration has taken all possible steps for rescuing the affected people as well as providing assistance. The situation is improving now,” Vaheed said over telephone.
According to the district magistrate, the initial financial assistance of Rs. 20,000 was already handed over to the deceased’s family while the remaining amount of Rs. 4.20 lakh would be provided after the due process. The injured children, he said, were immediately shifted to the hospital and they were out of danger.
The District Magistrate accompanied by other officials visited some of the affected areas and took stock of the situation. Some of the locals in Belonia opined that they never saw such a flood-like situation in last several decades.
Meanwhile, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb in a social media post wrote that he was in constant touch with the local authorities and monitoring the overall situation. He also assured that assistance would be provided to every affected individual.
In Gandachhara, heavy downpour resulted in flood like situation and submerged the agri-fields at Laxmipur, Gach Bagan, Dhalajhari, Sarma, Ramnagar and other areas along the Sarma River valley.
As a result, vegetable cultivation took a toll as most of the lands went under water. Kishan Morcha Mandal president of Raimavalley toured the affected areas and assured the Morcha would try to arrange government help for the affected farmers.