Incessant rainfall disrupts train service in North Bengal

Amitava Banerjee/Pritesh Basu | MP | 24 July 2019 | Darjeeling: Incessant rainfall has thrown life out of gear in North Bengal. The water level in the rivers has risen dangerously, adding to the woes. Rail communication in the Alipurduar division has been the worst affected.

In between Jorai and Kamakhyaguri railway stations in the Alipurduar railway division, around 100 m of down line track has been damaged in 4 places. 12 short distance trains have been cancelled in this division.

The up line is still functional but the speed of the trains to Guwahati from NJP, New Alipurduar and New Cooch Behar has been reduced drastically. "We are trying to repair the tracks on a war footing," stated S K Jain, DRM, Alipurduar Division, North East Frontier Railway.

Owing to incessant rain in Bhutan Hills, the water level of the rivers flowing through Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri are reaching the dangerous mark.

A flood-like situation has cropped up in Cooch Behar and Toofangunj. Red alert has been issued for the Raidak river, while it is yellow for the Mansai and Kaljani rivers.

In the last 24 hours, rainfall recorded in Cooch Behar has been 73.20 mm, with 55 mm in Dinhata, 65.60 mm in Toofangunj and 124 mm in Mathabhanga. There are some places that have received extremely heavy rainfall. Siliguri has received 222 mm of rain, with 247 mm in Gorubatha, 226 mm in Nagrakata and 400 mm in Matiali, in the last 24 hours.

42 relief camps have been opened up at many places in Cooch Behar, where around 6,000 affected persons have taken shelter. "We are keeping a close watch on the situation," stated Kaushik Saha, District Magistrate, Cooch Behar.

Malbazar subdivision in Jalpaiguri district has also been badly affected. Large areas have been inundated in the Meteli block. 500 families have been affected in the Neora Bustee, following the breaching of embankments of the Kumlai and Chel rivers.

Many areas of Siliguri have been inundated as well. Even the camp of the SSB 41 Batallion on the Indo-Nepal border has been inundated. Meanwhile, rains have receded in the Hills from Wednesday evening and the IMD has downgraded the red alert to amber for July 25.