Darjeeling: Amidst an ‘orange’ alert for rainfall in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts issued for Tuesday, torrential rains accompanied by gusty winds raged through the Hills since Monday night, triggering landslides and uprooting trees and electricity poles.
“Landslides have been reported in Municipal Ward Number 17 and Ward 23 in Darjeeling town. Trees have been uprooted in the block areas. However, there is no report of any loss of life. We are monitoring the situation round the clock. Reliefs, including tarpaulin sheets, are being distributed,” stated Richard Lepcha, Sub Divisional Officer.
A government residential quarter has been damaged at the Lowis Jubilee Sanatorium Complex in Ward 17 of Darjeeling town, affecting 10 families. “A wall of the Benfish building of the Fisheries department has collapsed and fallen on our building, affecting 10 families. It has also triggered a landslide. Though there is no loss of life, the collapse of parts of the quarter has resulted in us not being able to salvage our belongings. We cannot stay in the quarters either. We have not been rehabilitated,” stated an affected person. While some have shifted to houses of relatives or friends, many are on the lookout for accommodations.
“It has been a year since the wall of the Benfish building was damaged. We have been writing to the Fisheries department to take the necessary steps. They claim that the building has been leased out, hence it is not their responsibility. We have not been able to trace the lessee till date. Heavy rains on Monday night resulted in the damaged wall collapsing on our quarter at around 8:45 pm, putting our lives in jeopardy,” complained another resident. Residents claimed they had also brought the matter to the notice of the Darjeeling Municipality and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, but “nothing has transpired yet”.
The electricity supply was badly affected owing to the heavy rains and gusty winds. Electricity was disrupted since Monday night; however, by Tuesday evening, it was restored in most parts of the town. “There are still some pockets remaining, and restoration work is continuing on a war footing. The worst-affected areas are Mangwa, Takling, 6th Mile, Pandam, Sidrapong and Peshok,” Jigme Lama, Divisional Manager, WBSEDCL, told Millennium Post. The difficult terrain, coupled with continuing rains, slowed down the restoration work.
There were reports of trees being uprooted, causing severe damage to infrastructure, blocking roads and disrupting electricity at the Military station in Kalimpong. In the Mirik sub-division, the Lepcha Danda Deuse Danda Primary School was damaged by strong wind and rain. The wind blew off the roof of the primary school building, disrupting classes.
In the last 24 hours (recorded at 8:30 am on Tuesday), Darjeeling witnessed 67.4 mm and Kalimpong 119.2 mm of rainfall.