NEW DELHI, India - Torrential rain and floods in India's eastern West Bengal state killed at least 59 people and left some 10 million people marooned Thursday as the army struggled to carry out rescue and relief operations.
''The situation is very grim. Only the military can help us out,'' the United News of India quoted West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu as saying in Calcutta, the state capital.
Officials said 26 people were killed in the worst-affected district of Birbhum.
Indian air force helicopters were dropping food packets in the affected areas, home to millions, United News reported. Press Trust of India said many people were stranded on rooftops and dependent on airlifts of food and water.
The rain has caused extensive flooding, ravaged crops and washed out houses and grain-filled warehouses. Authorities also discharged excess water from two reservoirs in the region, increasing flood levels, United News of India said.
Opposition Congress party members met Deputy Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya to complain that sufficient aid was not reaching people in five districts, Press Trust reported.
In neighboring Bangladesh, about a dozen people were killed and 35 injured as tornadoes and heavy rains lashed the country, officials said.
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