Bengal rains: Three killed as two mud houses collapse in Bankura

Kolkata, Sep 2 (IANS) Three persons, including an elderly couple, have died in two separate incidents of mud-house collapse in West Bengal’s Bankura district since Tuesday night, following incessant rainfall across South Bengal, district administration officials said on Wednesday.

One of the incidents occurred in Sonamukhi, while the other was reported from Simlapal. The Sonamukhi collapse claimed one life, while the Simlapal incident left two people dead.

According to district officials, 76-year-old Beli Ruidas was inside her mud house in Kundapuskarini village under Sonamukhi Police Station limits when a rain-weakened wall collapsed on Tuesday night. While her son and daughter-in-law managed to escape after noticing signs of an imminent collapse, the elderly woman could not be evacuated in time and died on the spot.

Family members alleged that although they had recently received Rs 1.20 lakh under a state housing scheme for the construction of a new house, the amount was insufficient to complete the work, forcing them to continue residing in the old mud structure.

In the second incident, Palku Baske and Soma Baske, an elderly couple from Kushtora village in Simlapal block, were killed when a rain-damaged mud wall collapsed on their house in the early hours of Wednesday while they were asleep.

Neighbours, assisted by local police, rescued the couple and rushed them to Simlapal Block Hospital, where doctors declared them dead. The bodies of all three victims have been sent to Bankura Sammilani Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem examination.

Kolkata and several districts in south Bengal are receiving heavy rains for the last two days, triggered by a low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal.

The weather conditions are expected to improve slightly from Thursday. However, scattered rainfall is likely to continue across southern districts until September 8. A warning of heavy rainfall has been issued for Purulia, West Burdwan and Birbhum on Wednesday.

–IANS

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