Rainfall in Alipurduar district this monsoon has broken all records set in the past 25 years, officials said today. Rainfall so far this year has already crossed the average yearly rainfall in the district, which is 3300 mm.

“The rainfall this monsoon has already crossed the average yearly rainfall and reached 3521.60 mm, and today is only 13 July,” an official said.

Weather experts have predicted that the rainfall in the district this year could very well cross the 4000 mm mark.

Heavy rainfall in the past few days in Alipurduar has led to water-logging situation in Alipurduar town. “However, despite such amount of rainfall in Alipurduar, the town has not faced a flood-like situation like in the year 1993,” officials said.

“Rainfall on 21 July in 1993 when the devastating floods happened in Alipurduar was recorded at 372.11 mm. This year, 345 mm of rainfall was recorded on 12 July. It is true that water-logging was seen in some areas, but the entire town has not come under water, and full credit goes to the sanitary wing of municipality and the irrigation department,” a resident of Ward 8 in the town, Raju Roy, said.

There have been allegations in some areas of illegal occupation of drains and water bodies. “We had started cleaning the drains from April this year. We had even dismantled some illegal constructions in the drains. We gave a free hand to the sanitary department. I also placed the right people at the right places. Our team worked very hard and managed to avoid waterlogging in the town, despite this record rainfall,” said Alipurduar SDO, Sri Rajesh, who is the administrator of the Alipurduar municipality.

“We were always in good communication with the irrigation department. They repaired sluice gates as and when required, and as such, work became easier,”

Mr Rajesh added. Country boats were pressed into action during the waterlogging yesterday to rescue people stranded in low-lying areas.

“Water-logging is not a new problem in Alipurduar town. We tried our best and just acted as per instructions of the administrator of the Alipurduar municipality Sri Rajesh sir,” said sanitary inspector in-charge, Sumay Chakraborty.