Relentless rain lashed the hills of North Bengal over the weekend, unleashing landslides that swept away homes, collapsed bridges, and left at least 20 people dead, including seven children. Rescue teams fought treacherous conditions to pull bodies from the debris as the district remained cut off at several points.
Authorities confirmed fatalities across Sarsaly, Jasbirgaon, Mirik Basti, Dhar Gaon (Mechi), Nagrakata and around Mirik Lake. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local police reported two people still missing as of Sunday evening, with many villages cut off by slush and mud blocking approach roads.
Traffic movement has been paralysed after portions of the Balason and Dudhia bridges gave way, stranding residents and disrupting relief convoys. The police said earthmovers were struggling to clear blocked routes owing to the steep gradients and the slippery terrain.
The calamity was compounded by fears of flooding after Bhutan’s Tala Hydropower Dam overflowed following a technical failure, forcing downstream areas in Bengal to brace for fresh inundations. Army, NDRF and Civil Defence teams have already been deployed to carry out rescue operations in the affected regions. Additional teams from Jalpaiguri, Kolkata and Malda have also reached the spot to assist in relief efforts. SSB engineers are using drones to monitor the situation after the collapse of a bridge in the Dudhia area, while Public Works Department (PWB) officials are working to restore traffic movement at the earliest. S.P. Sharma, spokesperson of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), said that rescue operations were hampered in several remote areas due to darkness on Sunday night.
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Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, monitoring the situation from Nabanna, announced she would visit the affected sites on Monday. “Yesterday night there was sudden rainfall exceeding 300 mm in 12 hours in North Bengal, and there was simultaneously excessive flow of water into Sankosh river and generally flow of river waters from Bhutan and Sikkim. This caused disasters,” she said. Banerjee also conveyed condolences to the families of the deceased and promised immediate assistance.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu and Union home minister Amit Shah expressed sorrow at the mounting toll. Shah said additional NDRF companies were on standby, while Modi assured that central agencies were working closely with the state administration.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for sub-Himalayan West Bengal, forecasting extremely heavy rainfall over Darjeeling and Kalimpong until October 6.
The wider eastern Himalayan belt is under strain. Torrential rain has devastated Nepal, killing over 60 people and inundating swathes of land, while Bhutan has sought the Indian Army’s help in evacuating those stranded near the Amochu River.
A senior officer of North Bengal Police, Rajesh Kumar Yadav, who inspected the landslide sites, said the situation was “gradually stabilising” though access to remote hamlets remained a major hurdle. Relief agencies cautioned that the scale of damage could rise once the weather cleared and surveys reached isolated settlements.
For Darjeeling, scarred yet again by the fury of rain and mountain, the tragedy has rekindled memories of past monsoon disasters, even as hopes rest on swift aid and recovery.
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