40 stranded tourists evacuated from snow-bound Sandakphu

EOI, DARJEELIJNG, MARCH 22, 2024 : Around 40 tourists, who got stranded following heavy snowfall in West Bengal's highest Himalayan destination Sandakphu, were evacuated to safer places, a Darjeeling district official said on Friday. 

The arterial road connecting Sandakphu with Manebhanjan on the way to Darjeeling town was under about a foot of snow at some places, disrupting traffic movement.

 "A total of 37 tourists got stranded at various homestays and hotels in Sandakphu due to the snowfall over the last few days. They wanted to return and the administration and the police brought them back on Thursday," District Magistrate Preeti Goyal told PTI over the phone. 

The snowfall was continuing on Friday as well and the whole area was under a thick blanket of snow.

Darjeeling town recorded 31.2 mm rainfall in 24 hours till8.30 am on Friday as the minimum temperature settled at5.6 degrees Celsius, the Met department said. Light to moderate rain with thunderstorms and lightning has been forecast by the Met for the next five days in the sub-Himalayan districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Alipurduar.