Rain triggers landslides & red alert

Incessant rain throughout north Bengal has led to landslides in the hills and an announcement of red alert on both banks of the Teesta. The alert is meant for the areas starting from Domohoni, on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri town, to Bangladesh.

With the south-west monsoon setting in, north Bengal, especially the Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling districts, and Sikkim witnessed heavy to very heavy rainfall since yesterday.

The highest rainfall was recorded at Sevoke (230.8mm), followed by Bagdogra, Siliguri, Gajaldoba, Domohoni and Jalpaiguri (see chart). Of these, Sevoke, Gajaldoba, Domohoni and Jalpaiguri are located on the banks of the Teesta.

According to sources at the Regional Met Office in Jalpaiguri, rainfall above 65mm in 24 hours is considered heavy, above 125mm very heavy and above 250mm extreme heavy rainfall.

“The data of locations close to the Teesta available with us shows very heavy rainfall. This has contributed to the rise of water level in the Teesta,” the sources said.

Last year’s data, however, showed that rainfall on the same date in these areas was low. Sevoke had recorded 25mm, Jalpaiguri 0.1mm, Siliguri 4.4mm, Bagdogra 3.6mm, Domohoni 0.4mm and Gajaldoba 4.6mm. “The less rain was because of the late arrival of the monsoon,” an official at the Met Office said.

The last few days’ incessant rain also triggered landslide at Hatisuray, 25km from Siliguri on NH31A, and blocked the road for nearly six hours.

The highway is already deserted because of the strike called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

“The landslide occurred around 7am, disrupting the road link,” said Prankrishna Das, the officer-in-charge of the Sevoke police outpost. It however, disrupted the movement of army vehicles and ambulances to Sikkim and Kalimpong.

The debris was cleared by afternoon and the road communication was restored by the Border Roads Organisation, Das added.

The rain also affected Siliguri and surrounding areas, with residents of low-lying places like Samarnagar, Shitalapara, Santoshinagar, Ganganagar and Champasari, facing water logging this morning.

“We have received reports of water logging in some wards but the level receded by afternoon,” mayor Bikash Ghosh said. “We have sent workers of the conservancy department to the areas.”

The Siliguri Municipal Corporation has also opened a flood control cell and has cancelled the leaves of all employees in the conservancy and public welfare departments.

Weather experts hinted at rainfall throughout the sub-Himalayan Bengal in the next 24 hours.

“The monsoon clouds are hovering over north Bengal. We expect light to moderate rainfall,” said Subir Sarkar, the in-charge of the weather station at North Bengal University. “Yesterday, the NBU campus and nearby areas experienced an extreme heavy rainfall of 251 mm.”

The rainfall has also brought down the temperature. In Siliguri, the highest and lowest temperature were recorded at 25.4 and 23.4 degrees Celsius, respectively, Sarkar said.