Heavy rainfall wreaks havoc in Hills

REZA PRADHAN, SNS, DARJEELING. 6 AUGUST 2020 : Heavy rainfall that lashed the hills since yesterday evening has resulted in different incidents. A 10-year old boy identified as Md Allarakha of Bhalukhop in Kalimpong town is missing after he was reportedly swept away by gush ingwaters from a 'jhora' (stream) yesterday evening.

According to people at Bhalukhop, the boy was trying to salvage one of his slippers from the drain when the waters swept him away. Authorities said that a continuous search operation is still underway.

Also in Kalimpong, a major landslide damaged a stretch of road leading to Dungra Gram Panchayat. The land slide occured at Thukpa Dhara, and it took away a 10-metre portion of the road, sources said. The road connects three villages, with about 70 families living there, to Kalimpong town.

A small stretch of the road has also been damaged at Kalimpong block-2 near Algarah. National Highway-10, the main road connecting Kalimpong and Sikkim with Siliguri, which was closed due to landslides at 29th Mile since last night, was however reopened to traffic from around 8 am today.

"Flash floods led to waterlogging in different parts of Kalimpong town, with waters entering some shops at the RC Mintri Road last evening. However, a team from the Kalimpong Municipality

cleared the choked drainage to provide some relief yesterday itself," sources in Kalimpong said.

The Kalimpong Municipality took to Facebook to blame people and their "ignorance" for the situation. It said that the people had encroached on drainage systems in the town while constructing houses and buildings. 

"This is what happened in Ward No 3 near Delhi Stores where a flood-like situation ws witnessed, and water entered shops and houses, ruining their personal belongings, while the drainage system was choked with pipes, clothes, wooden furniture, stones and boulders. We need to take this as a warning call for our town and ensure drains are not blocked. People should not throw waste in the drains and alow water to flow freely," the Facebook post said.

In Darjeeling, continuous rainfall on August 4 and 5 uprooted tees that fell on overhead electricity wires, snapping them and leading to power cuts at many places in the district.

Sub-stations without power yesterday were New Singmari, Happy Valley, New Ghoom, Old Ghoom, Takdah, Pokhriabong, Bijanbari and Lodhoma, with most of the connections restored today.

(Courtesy & source- The Statesman- https://epaper.thestatesman.com/2777266/Siliguri-The-Statesman/7TH-AUGUST-2020#page/2/2)