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5 dead, many stranded amid rains, landslides in Bengal and Sikkim
Normal life was thrown out of gear and hundreds of tourists in north Bengal, who thronged the popular hill destinations during the Durga Puja season, were stranded after National Highway-10, the main road linking Gangtok with the rest of the country, was snapped due to landslides in the area
At least five people, including two children, have died in various rain-related incidents in the tiny Himalayan state of Sikkim and the tea growing region of north Bengal which have been witnessing torrential downpour (no floods) and major landslides since Monday night.
Normal life was thrown out of gear and hundreds of tourists, who thronged the popular hill destinations during the Durga Puja season, were stranded after National Highway-10, the main road linking Gangtok with the rest of the country, was snapped due to landslides in the area.
The arterial roads connecting various spots in Darjeeling and Kalimpong hills were damaged at several points while NH-10 was believed to be damaged in at least 16 areas. Power supply and mobile network services were also affected.
Two children, aged 8 and 10 years, were washed away in the swelling waters of Torsa River in Alipurduar on Wednesday. One died in West Bengal’s Kalimpong district on Tuesday, two died in Sikkim on Monday. .
A home guard, identified as Suman Thapa, went missing after a landslide in Darjeeling.
Several teams of National Disaster Response Force and civil defence have been deployed in these areas for rescue work.
In a letter to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, BJP MP from Darjeeling district, Raju Bista, sought additional teams of forces to tackle the situation.
“Several areas such as Rimbick-Lodhoma, Tangta-Jaldhaka, Tukdah-Teesta Valley, various parts of Mirik subdivision, Lopchu-Peshok, Algara-Lava and Goke-Bijanbari have been virtually cut off from the rest of the country due to landslides. Over 50 houses have been damaged and a few hundred families could be rendered homeless,” he said.
In the foothills in Siliguri, four houses were swept by Balasan River near Matigara.
Darjeeling district magistrate S Poonambalam said: “Roads, which were closed due to landslides, are being gradually cleared and opened for traffic. Tourists were being rescued and provided relief.”
The Rangpo Bridge, which connects Sikkim and West Bengal, was found to be in a precarious condition after the supporting pillars were damaged as the powerful Teesta river swept embankments at many points.
East Sikkim district magistrate Ragul K, who took stock of the situation at the border town at Rangpo, said: “We have decided to allow the movements of light vehicles only.”
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that the intensity of rain would decline in the next 48 hours.
“Very heavy rain was recorded in the districts of north ,including Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri. We had issued a red alert for Wednesday. The intensity of rain is likely to decrease over the next two days even though there would be light to moderate rain,” Sanjib Banerjee, deputy director general of IMD’s regional office in Kolkata, said.
According to an IMD official, Darjeeling received around 233mm rain while Kalimpong received around 199mm rain in the last 24 hours. “Jalpaiguri and Siliguri at the foothills in north Bengal received around 151mm and 195mm rain, respectively, during the same period,” said a IMD official in Kolkata.
While south Bengal too witnessed heavy rainfall in the past few days, the intensity has now reduced. While IMD stations located in coastal areas such as Canning, Haldia and Digha recorded more than 100mm of rain on Monday, in the last 24 hours, the amount of rain in these stations dropped to less than 25mm. Kolkata received just around 6.3mm rain.
