heavy rains disrupted life in major parts of eastern himalaya

Siliguri, Sep 9 (UNI) Life in major parts of eastern himalayan region including Sikkim, hills of Drjeeling and plains of north Bengal was affected following landlsides and water logging triggered by continuous rains for past 48 hours, official sources said today.

Mudslides near Kurseong forced Northeast Frontier Railway to suspend Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), also known as toy train linking Darjeeling with Siliguri. A crack of a railway bridge also disrupted two passenger trains in the Dooars, NFR officials said.

However, there had been no report of any casualty in the landslides at Kurseong, sources added.

They said huge debris rolled down the hills and covered a large portion of DHR track and Nation Highway 55, that connects Siliguri and Darjeeling. For some hours, the vehicular traffic on the hills of Darjeeling and Kurseong was disrupted due to road blockade.

However, road menders cleared a portion to make way for traffic of small vehicles, they added.

NFR sources said two inter-city passenger trains linking New Jalpaiguri station and Alipurduar have been suspended from today after a crack was noticed on a railway bridge at Dimdima inbetween Binaguri and Dalgaon in Jalpaiguri district.

Rains also affected life in major parts of Siliguri town and some places in Jalpaiguri and Coochbehar districts.

Traffic on NH 31A, the main artery of Sikkim was also affected after mudslides blocked road at Likhuvir, officials added.

UNI XC PC RN1541