A sudden bout of summer rainfall on Sunday night, followed by intermittent drizzle on Monday across north Bengal and Sikkim, brought down the daytime temperature in the hills and the foothills.

While a chill feeling was prevalent throughout the day in Darjeeling, the weather was mildly hot in Siliguri and the suburbs. The weather was chilly in most parts of the neighbouring state of Sikkim.

On Monday, it snowed in and around the Tsomgo (Chhangu) Lake and Nathu-la, two popular destinations in the eastern parts of the Himalayan state.

“Around 200 vehicles carrying tourists were stranded as there was a snowfall in the same area on Sunday. Later, the tourists safely returned to Gangtok. Again, it started snowing in the Tsomgo Lake area since this morning,” said Samrat Sanyal, the general secretary of the Himalayan Hospitality & Tourism Development Network.

Met office sources said there was a forecast of further rainfall, coupled with gusty winds with a speed of 40 to 50km per hour, in most parts of sub-Himalayan Bengal. In Sikkim, there is a forecast of thunderstorms.

Recurring snowfall in the upper reaches of Sikkim,
even in April, is drawing thousands of tourists to the mountain state.

“Many of them want to travel to Lachen and Lachung (which are in Mangan district), while others are visiting Gangtok and other locations,” said a tour operator based
in Sikkim.

He pointed out that during a torrential rainfall in northern parts of Sikkim on Thursday, multiple landslides and mudslides had occurred along the roads that connect Lachen and Lachung with the rest of the state.

Because of the landslides, around 1,400 tourists were stranded at the two places. The administration, along with the army and other agencies, cleared the roads. After the debris was removed from the Chungthan-Lachung Road on Saturday, tourists were evacuated from Lachung.

On Sunday, tourists stranded in Lachen were also evacuated through an alternative route. The Chungthang-Lachen Road is yet to be opened as there have been multiple landslides,” the tour operator said.

Considering the situation, the state government stopped issuing permits to tourists who wish to visit
north Sikkim.

However, on Monday, the superintendent of police of Mangan district issued an order stipulating that times were provided for the movement of tourist vehicles through the Sangkalang bridge en route to Chungthang from Mangan.