Bengal floods: Toll hits 36, five of the victims are from Nepal

SILIGURI: Eight bodies were found Monday as flood waters started receding in north Bengal , taking the toll in one of the worst calamities in the region to 36.

Many more are still missing.

Till Sunday, 28 bodies were recovered in north Bengal's hills and plains. Five of the victims were Nepalis .

CM Banerjee , who arrived in north Bengal Monday, announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the family of each deceased. "One member of each of the families will get job as a special home guard ," she said after visiting Jalpaiguri's Nagrakata.

Four of the eight bodies Monday were found in Nagrakata. The other four were recovered in Cooch Behar. The flood waters led to the collapse of several bridges. But Banerjee asserted none had died in any bridge collapse .

The devastation in Mirik, the worst-hit and where the calamity claimed 13 lives, was a concern, the CM said. The link to Mirik, disrupted by the devastation of a key bridge over Balason river, will be restored soon, she added.