Political strife and inclement weather- double trouble for Darjeeling Hills

STH is a Kalimpong based NGO working towards raising awareness about landslides in Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas.

Darjeeling: It is double trouble for the Hills of North Bengal. Already engulfed in a political strife, it is now inclement weather that has added to the woes. Incessant rainfall coupled with cyclonic winds disrupted electricity, telephone and cellular services, throwing hill life out of gear since Monday night.

With the town plunged in darkness and cellular services disappearing since Monday night there was panic in Darjeeling that both electricity and cellular services had suffered the same fate as internet services. The District Administration has clampdown on internet services by owing to the political strife.

Rumor mills worked overtime declaring that the Government had clamped down on cellular services as well as electricity. Rumors claimed that owing to the agitators forcefully shutting down the hydel projects in the Hills, the Government had cut down the electric supply to the Hills.

"Owing to the cyclonic winds and the rain, electricity has been disrupted. This has affected cellular services also as the cellular towers are without power. However agitators have been damaging fiber optic cables which has multiplied the problem. Work is on to restore both electricity and cellular connectivity" stated Joyoshi Das Gupta, District Magistrate, Darjeeling.

By evening electricity had been restored in certain parts of the town. Though connectivity was irregular cellular services also resumed.

The ongoing indefinite bandh that hit the 41 day mark on Tuesday has hampered restoration work. West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Corporation Limited sources stated that they were facing difficulties in restoring electricity as most of the skilled workers had left for the plains owing to the bandh. They were having to make do with local workers instead.

The Relief department under the State Government which distributes relief material in case of natural calamities has not been able to function fully owing to the permanent staff staying away. The Gorkha Janmukti Mocrha has issued a diktat asking Government employees not to attend office as part of the ongoing Gorkhaland agitation.

"Only the officers are present along with a few temporary staff. Shortage of staff is a problem in running this emergency service. We have alerted the police patrol parties to report landslides. We have some relief materials like tarpaulins. However stocks are steadily depleting" added the District Magistrate.

"Though there were reports of multiple land slips of minor intensity, no major landslide occurred" added Das Gupta.

With the weather forecast predicting more rains a cloud of uncertainty has enshrouded the Hills. "Normalcy needs to be restored including internet services for any eventuality to be combated competently. The Hills are highly vulnerable to the rains and communication is an important component for combating such eventualities" stated Wing Commander (Retd.) Prafulla Roa of Save the Hills (STH.)

STH is a Kalimpong based NGO working towards raising awareness about landslides in Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas. This region is one of the most landslide prone areas of the world.

Kalimpong on Monday night had witnessed 77mm of rainfall in three hours. "More than the amount of rainfall, the intensity of rainfall matters a lot in the Hills. In 24 hours Bankura in South Bengal witnessed 226 mm of rainfall which caused a flood and destruction on Tuesday. However there was no loss of life. In 2015, Darjeeling had witnessed 227 mm of rainfall in 6 hours which had left 41 persons dead in the Hills owing to landslides" added Rao.

OneIndia News