The death of a four-year-old boy after he slipped from a family member’s lap into floodwater inside his home has taken the toll in flood-hit Bhutni in Malda to three in four days, as the district administration expanded relief and rescue operations across the submerged islet on Saturday.
Safiur Rahman, also known as Ayan, died at Purba Samiruddintola village under Uttar Chandipur panchayat, where large areas remain underwater, sources said. The child fell around 4.30pm into water that had inundated the floor of the family’s house.
The incident occurred as authorities opened a zonal relief office at the Uttar Chandipur gram panchayat office to improve coordination in northern Bhutni. Malda district magistrate Rajanvir Singh Kapur said the office would support the faster delivery of relief, medical care, rescue assistance and essential services to remote and marooned habitations.
Gour Chandra Mandal, the BJP MLA from Manikchak, visited the bereaved family. “Three deaths in four days in flood-hit Bhutni village are heart-rending. We are providing all assistance to the families of those who died. But people have to remain careful too. The situation is grim,” Mandal said.
He said the Army, National Disaster Response Force, civil defence and other agencies were working around the clock, while urging residents to move carefully because almost the entire islet was submerged. Debajyoti Sinha, a district secretariat member of the CPM, demanded that the state government provide all possible assistance to the bereaved families, including compensation of ₹10 lakh for each family.
The district administration said 11 relief camps and 15 gruel kitchens were operating in Bhutni. A total of 111 boats had been deployed for evacuation and the transportation of relief materials, while 4,595 people had been rescued or evacuated so far. The administration had also distributed 33,965 tarpaulins, 4,170 disaster-management relief kits and 376 quintals of rice.
Fifteen medical teams, including boat-based mobile medical camps, have been deployed in Manikchak. According to Kapur, the teams have attended to 7,482 cases and shifted 246 pregnant women when required. Authorities have kept 310 anti-venom kits ready for snake-bite emergencies and other health contingencies.
The administration has arranged six water tankers, 308 tube wells, 66,500 water pouches, 1,600 drinking-water jars and 196 temporary toilets in Manikchak. Fifty-eight generator sets have also been deployed through the block administration and the Public Works Department’s electrical division to support relief centres, shelters and essential services.
NDRF teams remain deployed in the affected areas, while an Indian Army rescue team is also engaged in relief and rescue work. The newly opened zonal relief office at Uttar Chandipur is expected to coordinate these operations and support marooned communities as the administration continues evacuation, medical assistance and distribution of essential supplies.
