Amphan leaves a trail of destruction in North Bengal

Darjeeling: Super cyclone Amphan has left its mark on the districts of Malda and South Dinajpur in North Bengal though the intensity was much less. The Hills had a narrow escape with not much rain but the agriculture, fruits and vegetable cultivation bore the brunt in Malda. With the damaged kutcha houses in all the 15 blocks of the district, Malda witnessed winds with a speed of around 80 kmph. Around 190 houses have been destroyed in Old Malda, Habibpur, Ratua, Manikchak, English Bazar and Kaliachak areas. District Administration, Agricultural Department, Parks and Gardens department claimed that 38,000 metric tonnes of mangoes have been destroyed owing to the cyclone. Owing to the cyclone more than 16050 metric tons of Litchis have been destroyed along with 16000 hectares of paddy land. Also vegetables across 500 hectares of land were destroyed in the storm."This year has been bad for both mangoes and litchis from the beginning of the year. Initially it was rains and storms followed by hail storms. The orchard owners could hardly look after their orchards. There is no way that the orchard owners revert the effects. We are banking on the Government for help" stated Ujjwal Saha of Malda Mango Merchants Association. "We have communicated about the losses and damages to Nabanya in the form of a preliminary report" stated Arnab Chattarjee, Additional District Magistrate, Malda.

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