- Monday, May 05, 2025
Three of the deaths happened due to electrocution in various parts of the state, while a Howrah Municipal Corporation employee died due to drowning
By: shajil kumar
TWO more people died in West Bengal due to cyclone Dana, taking the toll to four, officials said on Saturday.
A civic volunteer, identified as Chandan Das (31), died on the spot when he allegedly touched a live wire in Bud Bud in Purba Bardhaman district.
The incident happened when he was out with a police team, they said.
An employee of the Howrah Municipal Corporation was found dead in a waterlogged road in Tantipara. It was suspected that he died due to drowning, they said.
The state on Friday reported two deaths due to electrocution. One person died in Patharpratima in South 24 Parganas district, and another died in south Kolkata’s Bhabanipur area, they added.
Severe cyclonic storm Dana struck the eastern coast in the early hours of Friday, triggering torrential rain and high-speed winds that uprooted trees and electric poles in Odisha and West Bengal.
Relief for Kolkata
Kolkata witnessed clear skies on Saturday, a day after heavy rains lashed the city due to cyclone Dana.
The city recorded 152.8 mm of rainfall in the 24-hour period till 6:30 am on Saturday, officials said.
Water receded from many areas as the rains stopped on Saturday, they added.
The IMD, however, said isolated light to moderate showers are likely in some areas of the city during the day.
Crop damage in Odisha
Cyclone Dana and the rain accompanying it have damaged standing crops in around 175,000 acres of land, and submerged another 280,000 acres in Odisha, a senior official said on Saturday, citing preliminary estimations.
The state government has directed a joint assessment of crop loss due to the cyclone by officials of the agriculture and revenue departments, he said.
“We’ve directed field officials to assess and enumerate the crop loss,” Principal Secretary of Agriculture and Farmer Empowerment Arabinda Padhi said in a post on X.
Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi during a review meeting on Friday night said the final estimate of the loss in the agriculture sector would be known from the detailed report and compensations for farmers will be decided.
He said that around 800,000 people were moved to cyclone shelters, and many of them were allowed to return home as the weather improved.
The landfall started around 12.05 am on Friday between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara and Dhamra in Bhadrak district of Odisha with wind speeds of around 110 kmph, and ended around 8.30 am. (PTI)
