Incessant rain coupled with winds for over 24 hours triggered minor landslides, damaged houses, uprooted trees and inundated various places in north Bengal on Wednesday.
Sources in the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said it had rained around 72mm in Darjeeling, 64mm in Siliguri and 63mm in Malda in the 24 hours till Wednesday morning.
Two persons, including a minor girl, were buried alive under the debris under the jurisdiction of the Pulbazar police station in Darjeeling district.
In Charchare Bari Jamuney, Pranit Jogo, 32, an excavator driver, died after debris fell on him. Samanta Subba, 6, in Lower Goke, lost her life when she was buried under the debris.
A source in the district disaster management office in Darjeeling said there had been heavy wind and rain in the hills since Tuesday evening.
A house was damaged at Takdah in Rongli Rongliot block when a tree fell on it. A landslide occurred on the Pulung Dong tea estate in Sukhiapokhri block.
“Minor landslides occurred in wards 5, 12, 13, 14 and 23. The Tenzing Norgay Road in Darjeeling was blocked for a couple of hours in the morning because of landslides. The quick response team from the civil defence department cleared the debris in the afternoon,” said the source.
The rainfall also triggered a landslide at Swetijhora, around 35km from Siliguri, along NH10.
Because of the landslide, traffic was halted on the highway for some time. It resumed around 1.30pm after the debris was cleared.
The rainfall since Tuesday night led to waterlogging in at least six wards in Malda town, inconveniencing around 10,000 residents. The heavy shower flooded localities like Subhaspally, Prantapally, Sarbamangalapally, Krishnapally, Malanchapally and a few other areas.
People were seen walking in knee-deep water as they expressed their disgust over the sewerage system of the town.
Kanak Kumar Das, a government employee, said: “It rains for two days... and we are in soup. This is nothing new. We listen to large promises every year, but the situation during the monsoon remains unchanged.”
The BJP asked whether ₹3 crore allocated for the improvement of the sewerage system in Malda town had been properly utilised by the Trinamool Congress-run Englishbazar municipality.
Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, the civic chairman, said: “It rained heavily over the past 48 hours. The water started receding in the evening. People are aware that we are sincerely working for the improvement of the drainage system."
There is a forecast of heavy rain in north Bengal and Sikkim in the next couple of days.