Officials said on Sunday that continuous rains from Saturday night killed large -scale landslides and fierce flood waters, killed major communication and transport links, destroyed bridges, and many injured in West Bengal’s Darjeeling and Kalimpong hills. The destruction continued till 5 pm on Sunday.
Officials warned that the death toll could increase, several injured in Darjeeling and Siliguri hospitals were still injured in critical condition as the barrage of monsoon -related tragedies continued to disturb the Himalayan mountains and foothills. Among the victims, eleven – including three children – according to officials, died in Mirik subdivision of Darjeeling district.
Heavy rain started around 6 pmOn Saturday, Sikkim, Bhutan and Nepal affect the neighboring areas, where more than 50 people have died due to alleged landslides and flash floods.
State administration and army officials said disasters at Darjeeling, a popular tourist hill station, destroyed two steel bridges, damaged four national highways and more than a dozen state roads, and severely affected houses, commercial establishments and government properties. At least five teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were deployed across the region till Sunday evening, continuing to search and rescue operations. Officials also said that thousands of tourists were stuck in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Mirik and they were advised to stay indoors. During the holiday of Durga Puja, the influx of visitors increased. Darjeeling reported several landslides between Saturday and Sunday.
“The reports of missing persons are yet to be confirmed to be confirmed,” said an official of Darjeeling’s Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA).
The landslide caused serious damage to the significant infrastructure, including NH -10 -Schkim and Kalimpong -and NH -110 connecting the lifeline, which connects Siliguri to Darjeeling. The second road connecting Sikkim to Siliguri, NH-717A also suffered damage at several points. The traffic movement on NH-10, which is the main road for Sikkim, resumed on Sunday evening.
Steel Bridge at Dhadia connecting Siliguri and Mirik caused great damage, as was another steel bridge in the Business Community Block in Darjeeling district. Apart from national highways, arterial roads like Rohini Road – also affected those connecting Siliguri and Kursong through Simulbury.
Speaking anonymously, a senior official said, “11 out of 18 victims, 11 in Mirik, four in Jorebanglo, two in Sukhia Pokhari police station area, and one in Sadar area, a senior officer also said anonymous.
Darjeeling Sub-Divisional Officer Richard Lepcha said, “Seven deaths were reported in Darjeeling subdivision, others reported in Mirik subdivision of Darjeeling district.”
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday issued a red warning for Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri, which was a warning of extremely heavy rainfall. Between 8 am and 8 am on Saturday, Darjeeling and Kalimpong received 145 mm and 131 mm of rain, while Jalpaiguri recorded 214 mm.
The IMD attributed the rapid fall for a weak depression in the Bay of Bengal, which turned into a low pressure system-triggered rapid rainfall in many parts of Eastern and Central India.
IMD Director General M Mohapatra said, “The Eastern Himalayan region saw heavy rainfall due to the influence of local topography.”
An IMD forecast has predicted “heavy rainfall on sub-Himmiman West Bengal and Sikkim on 6 October”.
GTA spokesman SP Sharma said, “With the badly affected with roads and communications, tourists are being advised not to leave their residence.” “People should avoid traveling to the hills at this time.”
Northst Frontier Railway spokesman KK Sharma on Monday announced the cancellation of nine vehicles, due to the tracks due to the tracks.
The Bhutan government requested the Indian Army to assist, which flows in the Alipurduar district of Bengal to vacate the floods on the banks of the Torsa River.
“On October 5, a rapid response to an emergency withdrawal request, the Indian Army launched two helicopters from the Sevok Road Aviation Base to start an important rescue mission in Bhutan’s Phuentsholing area,” the army said in a statement.
Northern Chhattisgarh and Northern internal Odisha and parts of Jharkhand have become well marked and weakened and now in North Bihar and its surrounding areas. The IMD said that the affiliated cyclone circulation lives on the Northeast Bihar, which extends to the middle troposphere level.
In addition, a western disturbance is present as a cyclonic circulation at the middle-troposphere levels in Jammu and its surrounding areas. Meanwhile, two troughs are currently active: one at the lower troposphere levels through Jharkhand from North Bihar to North Odisha and by another run, run below the run from coastal Andhra Pradesh and another run.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a high-level meeting at the State Secretariat Nabanna, opened a 24×7 control room, and said she was monitoring the developments personally.
“I am deeply concerned and worried that several areas in both North Bengal and South Bengal have been filled due to sudden heavy rains within a few hours last night and also due to the rush of excessive river water in our state from outside.”
The Chief Minister on Monday determined to visit North Bengal, “A sudden rains of more than 300 mm in North Bengal in 12 hours, the crisis in combination with excessive water flow in Sankosh river and rivers in Sikkim and rivers have deteriorated.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Congress President Mallikrajun Kharge expressed their condolences on the loss of life.
In a post on X, PM Modi said, “Officials are closely monitoring the situation in areas affected by Darjeeling and heavy rains and landslides. My views are with bereaved families. Wish the injured a quick recovery.”
Mirik residents recalled disastrous landslides in the early hours of Sunday. Aditya Pradhan of Mirik Panchayat Samiti said, “The landslide killed several houses in Dhar Gone between 2 pm and 3 pm, killing four people.
The committee chairman Kailash Khwas said, “Most of the parts of the Mirik Community Block have suffered heavy losses. Eleven people, including three children, died in sleep, when landslides were killed in their homes. Many villages have been cut, and hundreds of affected residents are taking shelter in community halls.”
In Teesta Bazaar in Kalimpong district, many houses were damaged by the swelling Teesta River. The market was severely killed by a flash flood on Saturday.
Darjeeling Superintendent of Police Praveen Prakash said, “We are assessing the entire limit of landslide and flood damage.”
At least 1,528 people had already died during this monsoon season, of which 935 were due to heavy rains and flash floods, 570 due to electricity and thunder and 22 in summer waves, IMD had earlier said. Of these 141 deaths were in Himachal Pradesh; 139 in Jammu and Kashmir, 41 in Uttarakhand; 290 in Madhya Pradesh, among others.
The disaster triggered a sharp political conflict with the BJP, which targeted Banerjee to participate in a cultural program instead of escaping in the affected area.
The state BJP President Samik Bhattacharya criticized Banerjee for participating in the state government’s annual Durga Puja Visarjan Carnival in Kolkata soon after the disaster. Bhattacharya said, “He should have run for Darjeeling instead of participating in a carnival.”
Responding to criticism, State General Secretary of Trinamool Congress (TMC) Kunal Ghosh said that the event gave cultural significance beyond the boundaries of the state.
“Carnival is held every year, when UNESCO recognized Durga Puja of Kolkata as part of the abstract cultural heritage of humanity in 2021. He is doing everything to deal with the Chief Minister’s crisis,” Ghosh accused the BJP of politicizing a tragedy. “People also die in natural disasters even in BJP ruled states. BJP should stop playing politics.”
(With input from agencies, Kolkata Bureau, and Jayashree Nandi)
