The West Bengal government on Tuesday reported eight more deaths in floods in 15 districts of the State. The death toll now stands at 58.

Siliguri, Aug.

Around 80,000 people living in Manikchak are in panic with rains bringing to halt anti-erosion work along a 4km stretch of the Ganga.

Heavy rain last night inundated low-lying areas in Malda district and increased water levels in many rivers.

People of Domhat in Manikchak have rued that the anti-erosion work started just one week back when the monsoon was about to set in.

Leaving nothing to chance, the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar has formed Flood Fighting Forces (FFF) to identify vulnerable points and provide technical advice to officials concerned during floods amid indications that the state is set to get a normal monsoon this year after two consecutive years of drought.

SILIGURI, 10 JAN: In order to maintain proper food chain the forest department released a total of 58-spotted deer in Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary today.

RASHME SEHGAL

NEW DELHI The ministry of forests & environment (MFE) has launched a massive National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) to revitalise 38 key Indian rivers.

With major rivers in spate, there is no let-up in the overall flood situation in Bihar where 1.5 million people continue to reel under the deluge in 11 north Bihar districts.

Rivers like Kosi, Mahananda, Bagmati, Kamala Balan and Adhwara have crossed the danger level at different places along their course, Central Water Commission sources said.

The panchayat pradhans of Malda's Ratua I and Harischandrapur II blocks have alleged inadequate relief for over 50,000 marooned people in the areas.

The Ganga and the Phulhar are flowing above the extreme danger level in the district and the Mahananda, Tangon and the Punarbhaba are in spate.

Twenty-one villages in Mahanandatola gram panchayat and 14 villages at Bilaimari in Ratua are under waist-deep water. Both the areas are cut off from the rest of the block for the past one week. Block development officer (BDO) Lakshman Halder visited the affected places today.

India and Bangladesh have signed a pact in New Delhi on July 17 agreeing not to prevent each other from carrying out anti-erosion work along the border in malda district.

The district magistrate of Malda, Chittaranjan Das, said huge plots of Indian land on the border were eroded by the river. "The problem is particularly bad in areas like Old Malda, Habibpur and Bamungola where the border fencing and pillars have gone missing with the Mahananda eating into its banks.'