A gram panchayat pradhan lost his life in a landslide triggered by incessant rain in Sikkim on Saturday. In north Bengal, the swelling Teesta inundated thousands of homes in the Jalpaiguri district over the past 24 hours.
District officials in Sikkim’s Gyalshing said the landslide struck Upper Sardong, Lama Gaon ward, late on Saturday. “Rajen Gurung, 47, died after being crushed by the slide near his residence. He was the head of the 19-Sardong-Lungzick gram panchayat. His body was recovered from the debris around 10.30pm,” a source said.
Sudesh Kumar Subba, an MLA from the area and advisor to the Sikkim tourism and civil aviation department, visited the site and assured support to the bereaved family.
Meanwhile, in north Bengal, the Teesta swelled dangerously following heavy downpour in the hills and plains.
At least 78 houses in Sahebbari and Paschim Dalaigram, of the Changmari panchayat, in Jalpaiguri’s Kranti block were submerged. Floodwater entered over 6,000 homes in Kerani Para, Master Para and Sango Para of the Chapadanga panchayat. District officials estimated that about 25,000 people have been affected.
“The water level is rising, so we have taken shelter on the embankment,” said Surbala Roy, a resident of Master Para. Others pointed out the shortage of cooked food. “The stove is underwater, we are surviving on food distributed by the administration,” said Chilu Roy of Kerani Para.
The irrigation department said water is being released from the barrage every four hours, further raising the level of the Teesta. A red alert has been issued in unprotected stretches, from Domohani to the villages near the Bangladesh border in Mekhliganj. Over the past 24 hours, 161mm of rainfall was recorded in Malbazar, 118mm in Jalpaiguri, 126mm in Alipurduar, 103mm in Maynaguri, 78mm in Hasimara and 54mm in Gazoldoba.
“There are plans to expand several spurs of the Teesta in the Changmari area, but work can only start after the monsoon,” said Krishnendu Bhowmik, chief engineer of the northeast division of the irrigation department.
