AGARTALA, June 1: A man died after he fell into a manhole as incessant rain caused massive inundation across Tripura with the state’s capital Agartala witnessing a record rainfall of around 200 mm in just three hours, officials said on Sunday.
Normal life was affected as overnight rain battered the city, with people seen wading through knee-deep waters in front of Chief Minister Manik Saha’s residence.
Saha on Sunday said around 1,300 families have taken shelter in camps in West Tripura district due to incessant rainfall in the past 48 hours.
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Except for West Tripura, the overall situation in the remaining seven districts appears “near normal”, even as many low-lying areas have been inundated due to continuous downpours, the officials said.
Over 5,000 city dwellers have taken shelter in 27 relief camps of the Agartala Municipal Corporation after several areas have been waterlogged, West Tripura District Magistrate Vishal Kumar said.
Agartala Mayor Dipak Majumder visited waterlogged areas in the state capital to take stock of the situation and said the city recorded the “highest downpour of 200 mm in just three hours on Saturday night”, causing waterlogging in several localities.
“Due to incessant rain over the past two days, around 1,300 families have taken shelter in relief camps in West Tripura district. The government is keeping a close eye on the situation. The district administration, NDRF, SDRF, civil volunteers and different agencies have been deployed to help the marooned people,” the chief minister wrote on Facebook.
The CM cancelled all his scheduled programmes for Sunday in the wake of the flood-like situation, an official said.
The chief minister urged the people to follow the instructions of the administration, and said the water level in many locations started receding as all the pumping stations have been made operational.
Agartala Mayor Dipak Majumder visited waterlogged areas in the state capital to take stock of the situation and said the city recorded the “highest downpour of 200 mm just three hours on Saturday night, causing waterlogging in several localities.
“One person died after he fell into a manhole at Jackson Gate. A control room has been made operational to monitor the flood-like situation,” he told the reporters.
Majumder said all the pumping stations in the city have been working to drain out the rainwater at the earliest.
“If the downpour continues, the situation may worsen in Agartala city and its adjacent areas, but we are ready to deal with any eventuality,” the district magistrate said.
The DM said the water level in the Howrah river is flowing at a danger level (10.80 metre), and 5,765 families living on the bank of the river have taken shelter in relief camps.
A 16-year-old boy drowned at Jirania in West Tripura on Friday.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted heavy rainfall in Tripura due to the monsoon, which set in ten days ahead of its scheduled arrival. (PTI)
