For two years, the families of Goma Soondas and Bijita Dorjee and six others have been living at a community hall in Teesta Bazar.
Exactly two years ago, a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) at 17,300 feet above the sea level in North Sikkim’s South Lonak Lake left a trail of destruction from Sikkim to north Bengal and parts of neighbouring Bangladesh.
The homes of Soondas, Dorjee and many of their neighbours on the banks of the Teesta, little away from Teesta Bazar, were washed away in the waves that came crashing down.
Two years later, the combination of a forceful southwest monsoon and cyclonic circulation brought about extremely heavy rainfall that triggered landslides, flash floods, washed away bridges, and vehicles.
Along with the material losses that this region suffered between Saturday and Sunday night, hopes nurtured by Soondas and Dorjee and others residing in the community halls were also washed away.
“There is water everywhere. The loss of human life is much less compared to 2023. A new house that I was building on the road got washed away in the floods from two years ago,” said Kishor Pradhan, who lives near the Teesta Bridge.
In the 2023 flood from around the same time, at least 55 were killed, 74 missing, and hit the NHPC Teesta Low Dam Project III at Rambi Bazar in Kalimpong’s 27th Mile.
Over a hundred homes along Teesta Bazar to 27th Mile were destroyed. Few of the survivors moved to the relief camp at the community hall and others took homes on rent.
Pradhan now lives in his old house, above a hill tract and has been spared the fresh round of inundation from Darjeeling, Kurseong, Mirik, Banarhat, Teesta, Pulbazar, Dudhia and Sonada valley.
“The Dudhia-Mirik bridge has broken, homes, two-wheelers, four-wheelers washed away. Shops, restaurants and cottages have been damaged,” said Semika Lama, a resident of Dudhia, adding some of the families from the area have moved to relief camps.
This part of the hills was unaffected by the floods of 2023. Two years later they met the same fate as their brethren in Kalimpong.
The Darjeeling MP from BJP Raju Bista visited Dudhia last night, and promised help. The locals claim they are still waiting.
“The weather is a lot better today. The water has receded a little. Not much has reached us in terms of aid. We are still awaiting the repair work on the bridge to start,” she said over the phone from Dudhia.
The rivers flowing along the hills and plains of north Bengal breached towns, villages, tea gardens and reserve forests sweeping away wildlife, humans and man-built property.
Ruden Sada Lepcha, the Kalimpong MLA from Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha met the locals at Teesta Bazar on Monday afternoon.
Lepcha’s last visit to the area was after the 2023 floods.
“In the last two years none of the demands that we made two years ago have been realised. The compensation due to the people who lost their homes remains undelivered. The relocation of those who lost their homes is yet to be done. No work has been done to protect those who live in this region,” said Pradhan.