At least 30 persons were killed after a series of landslides, triggered by overnight torrential rain, hit different parts of the Darjeeling hills.
According to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, 22 persons died in popular tourist destination Mirik, while 6 in Kalimpong and 1 each in Sukhia and Gorubathan. “Eight persons are missing after the landslide — 6 in Mirik and 2 in Kalimpong,” Ms Banerjee said.
Following heavy torrential rain, the loose land mass washed away and came down along the steep, rocky walls. In the process the rocky land mass had either swamped the wooden houses on the slope or fell on areas with human habitation. Mirik block and Kalimpong subdivision bore the brunt.
According to locals, a school student was killed in Lava, Kalimpong, while 19 others were killed at various locations in Mirik. Four persons were reportedly killed in Mahendra village. Many also died in Tingling Limbu village in Mirik. According to locals, at least 15 people are reported missing at 8 Mile and 11 Mile areas in Kalimpong, PTI reported.
Death toll to rise
A resident of Darjeeling and Editor of Himalayan Times, Sandip Jain told The Hindu that the death toll is expected to climb sharply.
“So far we are getting reports from towns but the death toll is going to increase as rescue workers reach rural areas,” said Mr Jain. In several parts of the hills electricity and internet and telephone connections are down. “The immediate task should be to restore road connectivity along with electricity and telephone connectivity,” Mr. Jain added. Mr Jain said that the majority of those killed in Mirik are tea garden workers.
Locals recovered the bodies and rescued the injured, put them in hurriedly made bamboo stretchers and carried them to the nearby health centres. “The hospitals and the local health centres are working overtime to accommodate patients who have now started coming from far-flung areas,” said Jorao Tamang of Kalimpong. Acute shortage of medical or para-medical staff and facilities has also been reported by the locals.
Ms. Banerjee said that rescue operations were called off in the evening due to inclement weather and would resume on Thursday morning. Travelling by road and train from Farakka in North Central Bengal, Ms. Banerjee arrived in Darjeeling and has promised Rs7,00,000 for the deceased family. She along with S.S Aluwaliah and Central Minister for the North East MRittiju have visited the affected areas. A lot of relief materials is expected to be distributed in the affected zones.
The leader of Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) Bimal Gurung, who also heads Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), visited the hospital to meet the people injured in the incident.
Nepal quake impact
“Landslides in Darjeeling hills are not uncommon during monsoon but the recent earthquake in Nepal had affected the internal rock structure of the hilly region. The increased magnitude of the landslides and the large region it covered is a reflection of that,” Tuhin Ghosh, a Jadavpur University faculty member and an expert in disaster management, told The Hindu.
In the plains also heavy rainfall resulted in parts of Jalpaiguri district being inundated. The water released from the Teesta barrage added to the woes of people.
The Jalpaiguri district administration has sounded a red alert as the Teesta and Torsa rivers touched danger levels.