Incessant rain spells doom for North Bengal, road & rail links take hit ..One died

Amitava Banerjee | MP | 10 Sep 2018 | Darjeeling: Incessant rainfall since Sunday night has thrown life in North Bengal and Dooars out of gear.

 A person died in Siliguri due to the collapse of a boundary wall of a housing complex. Road and rail links in Terai and Dooars were also badly affected. 

Narayan Mondal died on Sunday night, after getting buried under a boundary wall that collapsed in Salbari near Siliguri. Mondal's wife, son and daughter were also seriously injured in the incident.

"Some places at Patharghat near Salbari have been inundated," stated Joyoshi Das Gupta, District Magistrate, Darjeeling. 

A landslide on National Highway 31A near the Coronation Bridge had cut off connectivity between Kalimpong, Sikkim and Siliguri. However, at around 7 pm, the debris were cleared and traffic flow was restored.

National Highway 55, connecting Siliguri and Darjeeling, was also affected owing to a landslide near Rongtong. The debris were later cleared.

The districts of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar have been badly affected as well, owing to the incessant rainfall. Banarhat under the Dhupguri Panchayat is the worst affected. With levels of the Hatinala rivulet rising, 500 families have been affected. 

The Primary Health Centre at Banarhat was inundated and boats had to be pressed into service to ferry patients.

"A railway embankment has been damaged between Carron and Banarhat stations of the Alipurduar division. 7 trains have been cancelled, 2 short-terminated and 4 diverted. Repair and restoration work has ensued on a war footing," stated Pranab Jyoti Sharma of the North East Frontier Railways. 

National Highway 31 was affected owing to washing away of culverts at Grassmor and Nandumor. Owing to heavy rains in Bhutan and water levels rising in the rivers that flow in from Bhutan, the situation has worsened further. Tea gardens have also been affected.

"We have opened up a control room and are keeping a tab on the situation. Banarhat and Nagrakata are the worst affected," stated Gauri Saria, District Magistrate, Jalpaiguri. 

In the past 24 hours, Jalpaiguri has received 135 mm of rains, Siliguri 257 mm, Alipurduar 130 mm, Banarhat 300 mm, Hasimara 340 mm, Mainaguri 132 mm and Malbazar 301 mm. 

The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted more rains in the next 48 hours. "The eastern end of the axis of monsoon trough at mean sea level passes through Muzzafarpur, Purnia, Goalpara and thence eastward to Nagaland. An upper air trough runs from east Bihar to West-Central Bay of Bengal, extending up to 2.1 km above mean sea level. Strong incursions of moisture from North Bay of Bengal and enhanced rainfall activity is likely over the districts of North Bengal during the next 4 days," stated a special bulletin. 

"We are keeping a close watch on the situation and are prepared to tackle any eventuality," stated Nikhil Nirmal, District Magistrate, Alipurduar.