Night-long torrential rainfall across sub-Himalayan north Bengal since Thursday evening killed two people and triggered landslides, turbid rivers, and waterlogging in different areas.
A four-year-old girl was swept away by a stream in Alipurduar and another person is suspected to have drowned in a flooded area near Darjeeling More, Siliguri.
Siliguri recorded 210 mm of rain over the past 24 hours. The swollen Balason river, which descends from the hills and flows through the outskirts of Siliguri, washed away a temporary bridge (causeway) early on Friday, snapping the direct connectivity between Siliguri and Mirik.
The temporary bridge or causeway was built along SH12 near Dudhia after a concrete bridge was damaged during the floods of October 5 last year.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, addressing newspersons from Nabanna, said: “The bridge was washed away. Raju Bista, the local MP, and the Darjeeling district magistrate have visited the spot. We have sanctioned funds for the temporary bridge again and PWD has started mobilising materials. If the weather conditions do not deteriorate, the bridge will be ready in four to five days.”
He also said that the downpour caused landslides in multiple locations across the hills along NH110, the Lebong Cart Road, Mungpoo, and the Rungli-Rungliot block.
Darjeeling district police issued a traffic advisory. “For safety, traffic movement has been stopped between Sukna and Kurseong along NH110. The vehicles bound for Darjeeling, Kurseong and Mirik will move through alternative routes like the Rohini Road and the Pankhabari Road,” said a source.
The state tourism department has announced helpline numbers for tourists.
State tourism minister Shankar Ghosh said: “Because of incessant rainfall, there have been landslides. Hundreds of tourists are in the hills now and our department, along with the administrations of Darjeeling and Kalimpong, are working in coordination. For the tourists, we have introduced helpline numbers. They can reach out to these numbers and seek any help.”
The chief minister also said that there have been no reports of tourists stranded anywhere in the hills. “Different departments of the state are working together along with the police, and we hope the tourists will return to their homes safely. Most of the landslides have been cleared by this afternoon,” said Suvendu.
The rain led to waterlogging in several areas of Siliguri, including Champasari, Haidarpara, Mallaguri, Pradhannagar, Ganganagar, Ashrampara and parts of Hakimpara.
A tree was uprooted and blocked Hill Cart Road on Thursday evening. The state fire and emergency services department and civic workers later removed the tree.
Rajesh Kumar Sau, 42, was found dead in his room at Ujanu, near Darjeeling More, on Thursday morning. Police suspect that he was in a deep sleep when water entered his room and he died by drowning. They are waiting for the post-mortem reports
The Northeast Frontier Railway suspended regular passenger services of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling and vice versa following reports that landslide debris had blocked certain stretches of the toy train track.
“We will check out the condition of the track tomorrow and will then resume the regular passenger service,” an official said.
The overflowing waters of Bhola Nullah swept away a girl on Friday at the Bharnobari tea estate in Alipurduar’s Hasimara.
The girl’s body was recovered nearly 5km from her residence. The body was sent to Alipurduar District Hospital for post-mortem.
The incident caused outrage. Residents blocked the Hasimara–Jaigaon state highway for nearly seven hours from 8am to 3pm to protest against the alleged illegal encroachment on the drainage channel.
They said that panchayat representatives have allowed concrete houses to be built over portions of the stream, obstructing the natural flow of water.
“Even a moderate rainfall leads to waterlogging as rainwater cannot pass through the stream due to the encroachments. Since last night, water levels at the stream have risen sharply and flooded some houses,” said a resident.
“It is an unfortunate incident. Officials of the district administration have met the girl’s family and handed over a compensation of ₹4 lakh. We are taking necessary steps to reduce human casualties and other losses during such natural disasters,” Suvendu said.
The rainfall in the hills increased the water levels of the Teesta and Jaldhaka rivers. The irrigation department has issued a red (secondary) alert for unprotected areas on both banks of the rivers and yellow (primary) alerts for the protected areas.
Weather experts confirmed that the southwest monsoon has entered the region and forecast heavy to very heavy rain till the middle of next week.