West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced Rs 2 lakh as compensation and a job for the next in kin of those who died of electrocution in Kolkata following torrential rain.

During a Durga Puja inauguration at her own Assembly constituency Bhawanipur, Banerjee said, “For the people who died due to electrocution yesterday, the state government will provide Rs 2 lakh to each of their families. Money cannot replace lives, but even if CESC does not provide jobs, we will ensure special employment is given to the family members.”

She said, “I have been working for the past two days. Water has receded quite a bit, though there is significant flooding in the Ganga. Apart from a few low-lying areas, most of the water has drained out. Nature is not in our hands.”

Banerjee, however, added, “Kolkata Port, Farakka Barrage, Damodar Valley Corporation’s Maithon; they have not been dredged in the last 20 years. Whenever it rains in Bihar or UP, water flows into West Bengal. We have to manage everything ourselves.”

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, the CESC, which supplies electricity in Kolkata and its surroundings, said in a statement, “We have investigated eight such (electrocution) cases. We found that in five of these cases, the deaths were caused by electrocution from faulty wiring within homes or a factory. The rest of the three cases happened outside. Two of them were due to electrocution from touching street light poles. These street light poles are generally not owned or maintained by CESC. The other case was from a kiosk near a traffic signal.”