Five more bodies were recovered from the debris of landslides in Darjeeling on Wednesday, taking the cyclone toll in West Bengal to 86.
"The toll in landslides mounted to 21 and it may rise further. I have asked Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen to rush to Darjeeling tomorrow to monitor the situation and speed up relief and rescue operations," Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told reporters. 16 bodies were recovered on Tuesday.
"A special fund has been released to the district administration, and two teams of BSF's National Disaster Management force rushed to Darjeeling today," the Chief Minister said.
Darjeeling, he said, remained cut off from Siliguri in the plains for the second day as all roads were blocked by landslides.
The situation improved slightly with the opening of a lane of the Hill Cart Road, which connects Siliguri in the plains to Darjeeling town in the hills, Bhattacharjee said.
"I have asked the district administration to send relief materials including food packets and water pouches to the hills immediately," Bhattacharjee said.