Two killed in landslides, one drowns after heavy rain in WB

Two persons were killed in landslides in Darjeeling hills, while one drowned when a boat capsized in Cooch Behar on Sunday as rain lashed the entire north Bengal region.

Flooding was reported from several parts of Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Cooch Behar and Malda districts with the Mahananda, Jaldhaka, Raidak and other rivers flooding their banks.

Power supply in Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri and Siliguri has been badly disrupted from Saturday night. Railway tracks and highways were inundated. North Bengal-bound trains from Kolkata were stopped midway and were later on brought back, railway officials said.

The National Highway 55, which connects Siliguri to Darjeeling, was shut after landslides damaged the road at Sepoydhura near Kurseong. Man Kumari Rai was killed when boulders hit her house at Aaloo Bari, while Norbu Tamang (78) died at Gaddi Khan, the administration said.

State Disaster Management Minister Javed Ahmed Khan said more than 60,000 people had been affected in Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts.

“The government has opened 45 shelters in the affected districts and relief materials are being provided to those who have been displaced from their dwellings. We are also providing clean drinking water to them,” he said.

Hampering rescue
The indefinite shutdown in the Darjeeling hills by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) is hampering relief and rescue works in the region, the government said.

“We only have a small stock of tarpaulins. Relief department officials and staff are not being able to move because of the bandh. Several vehicles are lying idle as they have run out of fuel,” said Joyoshi Dasgupta, Darjeeling District Magistrate.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the flood situation was bad in north Bengal and has impacted five districts and inundated around 100 tea gardens.

State Irrigation Minister
Rajib Banerjee said the state government is tackling the floods in north Bengal on war footing.

Officials of the Dooars wing of the Indian Tea Association said most of the rivers are
overflowing in the region, which will severely affect the tea gardens in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts and will have a direct impact on the plantation.