Pre-monsoon downpour continued in different parts of sub-Himalayan Bengal and the neighbouring state of Sikkim on Wednesday night and Thursday, along with thunderstorms and gusty winds in some places.

In Jalpaiguri, a person died after he was struck by lightning.

The downpour affected the ongoing road repair and restoration work in the mountain state of Sikkim, especially in north Sikkim. On Tuesday and Wednesday, multiple landslides occurred in some locations of Mangan, the only district in the northern part of the state.

According to sources, the connectivity between Lachen and Chungthang — the area from where roads lead to the popular tourist spots of Lachen and Lachung — remained disconnected due to a landslide in Munshithang. “The Chungthang-Lachung road, however, is open,” said a source.

However, tourists intending to travel to Yumthang, a scenic valley known for flowers near Lachung, had to cancel their plans because of a landslide that blocked the road at Dogra.

Connectivity between Mangan, the district headquarters, and Gangtok, the state capital, has snapped via the Rakdung-Tintek road due to a landslide at Namok Khola.

“Vehicles had to take the Phodong Road to reach Mangan from Gangtok and vice-versa. Also, the connectivity between Mangan and Dikchu has snapped due to the same slide,” the source added.

The situation has prompted the Mangan district administration to regulate traffic movement across the district.

The administration instructed all tourist vehicles travelling from Gangtok to Chungthang via Sangkalang or the Phidang Bailey bridge to cross the Sangkalang area by 2pm.

“In a similar manner, the downward movement of vehicles from Chungthang to Gangtok through Sangkalang or Phidang will end by 3.30pm. The Sangkalang Bailey bridge will be used strictly for light vehicles or vehicles weighing less than 12 tonnes,” said a source.

Officials of the Indian Meteorological Department said these weather conditions would prevail in the region for at least another couple of days, that is Saturday.

“The trough from sub-Himalayan Bengal and Sikkim to southeast Madhya Pradesh across Chhattisgarh continues to persist. Also, the incursion of moisture from the Bay of Bengal is causing rainfall,” said a weather expert.

Weathermen have issued alerts of heavy rainfall (70mm to 110mm) in some areas, along with gusty winds and lightning.

A farmer, Prabhat Roy, 42, of Mainatali village of Dhupguri block in Jalpaiguri died on Thursday morning after he was struck by lightning.

Roy, along with his wife and daughter, were harvesting okra from his field when lightning struck them. While his wife and daughter were injured, Roy was pronounced dead at the subdivisional hospital in Dhupguri.

On Wednesday, a Cooch Behar homemaker had similarly died when lightning struck her.

Additional reporting by our Jalpaiguri correspondent