Ganga Swallows Bhutni: Flood-Hit Residents Take Refuge on Rooftops as Officials Step Up Relief Operations

MALDA: A vast stretch of Bhutni in Malda’s Manikchak has turned into a landscape of water, with the swollen Ganga inundating villages, disrupting road links and forcing residents to seek refuge wherever they can. In several flood-hit pockets, rooftops have become temporary shelters as families wait for the water to recede and for relief supplies to reach them. The crisis has also brought the state administration into the field, with senior officials conducting aerial surveys and reviewing rescue and relief arrangements. 

The situation in Bhutni has deteriorated following a sharp rise in the Ganga’s water level and flooding after breaches in vulnerable embankment stretches. Hirানandapur and the North and South Chandipur gram panchayat areas have been among the worst affected, with large portions of the locality submerged. Communication with several villages has been severely disrupted, making conventional ground-based assessment and relief distribution increasingly difficult. 

For residents trapped inside the inundated zone, the flood has transformed homes from places of safety into temporary islands. As water surrounded houses and entered residential areas, many families were compelled to move to higher ground, while others remained on rooftops with essential belongings. The desperate scenes underline the speed at which the riverine disaster has overwhelmed normal life in the Diara region.

The scale of the emergency became clearer as reports emerged of around 2.5 lakh people being stranded across Malda after the Ganga crossed its danger mark. The flooding has affected homes, agricultural land and local infrastructure, leaving thousands dependent on rescue teams and relief networks. 

The administration has intensified its response as access to several affected areas became increasingly challenging. On September 9, senior state officials, including Disaster Management principal secretary Rajesh Sinha, DG Civil Defence Sanjay Singh and IG North Bengal Sukesh Jain, travelled to Malda and conducted an aerial assessment of the inundated areas. They also held discussions with district officials before surveying the flood-hit pockets from the air. 

Officials have stressed that the immediate priority is to ensure that stranded residents are moved to safer locations and that relief material reaches those who remain in vulnerable areas. Authorities are also keeping a watch on the possibility of water-borne diseases, an additional concern in a situation where contaminated water, damaged sanitation facilities and prolonged waterlogging can create a secondary public-health crisis. 

The flooding has also exposed the fragile relationship between Bhutni’s settlements and the Ganga. The region has repeatedly faced the twin threats of inundation and riverbank erosion, leaving residents vulnerable not only to rising water but also to the loss of their homes and farmland. Recent erosion in neighbouring parts of Malda has already forced families to abandon their houses and seek shelter in schools and temporary relief facilities. 

In one such affected area, around 50 families comprising nearly 300 people were reported to have taken shelter at Khasakol High School after losing homes to Ganga erosion. The episode illustrates how flooding and erosion are no longer separate threats for riverbank communities; they are increasingly intertwined emergencies that can uproot families even after floodwaters begin to retreat. 

The wider Malda flood situation has also assumed a more serious dimension with the Ganga remaining swollen. A historic 175-year-old Shiva temple in Ratua reportedly collapsed into the river amid severe erosion, adding another grim reminder of the destructive force of the river. Authorities have been watching water levels closely, particularly amid continuing inflows from upstream areas. 

For Bhutni residents, however, the immediate concern remains survival rather than the larger political or administrative debate. With roads submerged and regular communication disrupted, boats and other emergency arrangements become crucial links between isolated settlements and the outside world. Food, drinking water, medicines and basic sanitation have emerged as urgent requirements for families spending extended periods away from normal homes.

The crisis has also renewed questions over the long-term resilience of embankments in the region. Temporary repairs may help contain an immediate breach, but repeated flooding and erosion have left residents demanding more durable protection. The challenge is particularly complex in a riverine landscape where sedimentation, shifting channels and high water levels can undermine conventional flood-control structures.

The Ganga’s swelling has not affected Malda alone. Across the eastern Gangetic basin, unusually high river levels have contributed to flooding in several areas. In neighbouring Bihar, multiple major rivers have crossed danger levels, while a high Ganga has created a backwater effect in some tributaries, making drainage more difficult. 

Against this backdrop, Bhutni’s rooftops have become a stark symbol of a flood emergency in which the line between home and refuge has disappeared. Families are holding on to whatever possessions they could save, while authorities continue efforts to move vulnerable residents towards safer locations.

The immediate battle is therefore two-fold: keeping people alive and supplied while the Ganga remains high, and preparing for the difficult phase that will follow when the water finally begins to recede. For thousands of families in Bhutni, recovery will not simply mean returning home. In areas hit by both flooding and erosion, there may be no home left to return to.

As relief operations continue, the unfolding situation has once again brought the vulnerability of Malda’s riverine settlements into sharp focus. The Ganga may eventually retreat, but for the people living along its shifting banks, the question of permanent protection, rehabilitation and safer habitation is likely to remain long after the floodwaters disappear.