Double trouble - flood like situation in the plains and land slide in the Hills of North Bengal

Two persons died in landslides in Darjeeling while 1 drowned in Dinhata in the Cooch Behar District.

Darjeeling, August 12, 2017: It is double trouble for North Bengal, while in the plains there is a flood like situation, multiple landslides have occurred in the Hills.

2 persons died in landslides in Darjeeling while 1 drowned in Dinhata in the Cooch Behar District.

Landslides were triggered off on Saturday in the Hills of Darjeeling owing to incessant rainfall. In Darjeeling town landslides of different intensities were reported from Gaddikhana, Bhoteydhaara- Singamari, Haridashatta and in the area behind the Darjeeling Sadar Hospital. In Gaddikhana, located in the heart of the town a major landslide buried a house killing 78-year-old Norbu Tamang.

Family members claim that Tamang was short of hearing. When the landslide occurred they had called out to him but he had failed to rush out. Houses were damaged in Bhoteydhara. 4 families were affected by the landslides in Darjeeling.

51-year-old Mankumari Rai was buried at Alubari under the Jorebungalow police station in another landslide.

A landslide at Sepoydhura blocked the National Highway 55 connecting the plains of Siliguri with Darjeeling. The Public Works Department is trying to clear the debris and open the road to traffic.

Darjeeling District Administration claimed that relief activities faced problems owing to the indefinite bandh which hit the 59thday mark.

"In the morning we had requested the Darjeeling Municipality for Land Excavators. Initially, they did not provide us the excavators citing bandh as the reason. Later, however, owing to public pressure they provided an excavator. Along with this, there is a shortage of staff owing to the bandh. We had to make do with Civil Defense volunteers," alleged Joyoshi Das Gupta, District Magistrate, Darjeeling.

A large number of people had turned up at the relief department of the district administration for tarpaulin sheets. Tarpaulin sheets are used in the Hills to cover up vulnerable areas to stop water seepage thereby checking slips.

"We have a shortage of tarpaulins as we have not been able to replenish stocks owing to the bandh. Drivers do not want to drive up trucks from Siliguri, " added the District Magistrate.

The situation is equally grim in the plains of North Bengal with a flood like situation in most of the districts including Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Cooch Behar and Malda. 23-year-old Prasenjit Roy died due to drowning at Balarampur in Dinhata sub division of Cooch Behar.

The worst affected is the Alipurduar district. Torsa, Sankosh, Raidak, Pana, Basra rivers are flowing above the yellow level mark. With Bhutan having released water from the Kaljani river, a red alert has been sounded. Kalchini Block in Alipurduar is on high alert.
Many tea gardens including Kartik and Raidak are submerged. Bandapani, Joybirpara, Dekhlapara tea estates along with Kalapani and Gorochila Forest Villages have been cut off. Parts of the SAARC road to Bhutan is submerged.

"We are keeping a close watch on the situation. There is heavy rainfall in Bhutan resulting in the water level of rivers rising dangerously. We are in touch with the authorities in Bhutan over the condition of rivers that flow in from Bhutan to these regions" stated Debiprasad Karnam, District Magistrate, Alipurduar.

Most parts of Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Malda districts are submerged. A part of the Medical College and Hospital in Malda is submerged. There has been disruption of electric supply adding to the woes. Cyclonic winds resulted in trees being uprooted thereby blocking roads along with damaging overhead electric wires in different parts of Siliguri.

Control rooms have been opened up. Relief camps have been started by the district administration. Quick response teams and disaster management teams have been deployed. However, there have been complaints from the flood affected that they are not getting relief.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who was in Delhi on Saturday called up to inquire about the situation. She has given instructions to the Government officials to keep a close tab on the situation and ensure that there is no dearth of relief material. Administrative top brass at Nabanya, the State Secretariat, held video conferences with the DMs of the North Bengal districts.

With New Jalpaiguri (NJP) Station area being submerged, 4 pairs of trains including NJP-Rongia Passenger; Alipurduar NJP Passenger; Siliguri Junction- Dinhata DMU and Bamunhaat- Siliguri DMU were canceled.

"Many trains are running late too owing to tracks being submerged in many places. Routes have been changed from some trains" stated Partha Seal, Area Manager, NJP.
Met offices have predicted that rains will continue.

"A monsoon trough of low pressure is active along the Himalayas. There is an upper air cyclonic circulation from Bihar and adjoining Sikkim to Assam. Areas of North Bengal and Sikkim will experience rainfall in the next 3 days" stated Dr. Gopinath Raha, Director, Meteorological Department, Gangtok.

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