Even as 1.25 lakh people have been affected by floods in the northern districts of the State, the Army has been called out for rescue operations in the affected areas. According to a press release issued by the Press Information Bureau, Army personnel were able to restore connectivity to Khairkatta village near Nagrakata in Jalpaiguri on Friday morning by constructing a 90-foot-long Bailey bridge across Kucchi Diana River. Nearly 2,000 residents of the village had been marooned ever since the existing bridge was washed away in the wake of torrential rains earlier this week. District authorities had deployed two elephants from the State Forest Department to supply the village with essential supplies including food, drinking water and medicines. “The construction of the bridge commenced on Tuesday night and the troops worked night and day to ensure that it was finished as early as possible,” said Defence spokesperson Group Capt T. K. Singha. State Irrigation Minister Manas Bhunia told journalists at the State Secretariat that nearly 1.25 lakh people were affected by the floods. He also said that he had submitted a report to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the breach in an embankment near Champasari village in Darjeeling district which resulted in the need for an emergency evacuation of hundreds. “Our priority is to ensure the repair of embankments,” he said. Dr. Bhunia said that the floods were being caused because of high siltation in the rivers in south Bengal that was resulting in rivers in north Bengal to overflow. During the day, State Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh visited some of the flood-affected areas in North Bengal.