MALDA – A 175-year-old Shiva temple located in the Ratua region of Malda district, West Bengal, completely collapsed into Ganga River on Sunday.
Worsening flood conditions and severe riverbank erosion along the Ganga triggered the collapse of the centuries old structure.
Experts warned that the water levels will continue to rise until September 9 after heavy inflow from Bihar.
The temple at Muniramtola had faced the threat of erosion since last year but temporary protective work had kept it standing.
As the water levels surged, a large portion of the riverbank eroded on Saturday before the river swallowed the entire historic structure on Sunday evening.
The situation in Bhutni deteriorated after an embankment breached on the night of Sept 2, inundating the island.
Constructed in 2025 at a cost of 6.5 crore rupee, the dyke’s failure prompted criticism from local member of the legislative assembly (MLA) Gour Mandal, who alleged poor construction quality and blamed the previous All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) party administration for the infrastructure failure.
At least 62 villagers across three panchayats in Bhutni are submerged, alongside the local police station. – THE TIMES OF INDIA/AGENCIES
