North Bengal sees heavy rains, Darjeeling suspends trekking

The Darjeeling district administration on Tuesday had to stop trekking and close some roads as sudden heavy rainfall led to landslides in several areas of the hilly north West Bengal.

Trekking routes will be opened only after the improvement of the weather, it said.

According to the Met Department, torrential rain was experienced in many places in north Bengal from Monday night, leading to several landslides in the area. The sudden rains also led to the collapse of roads and snapping of power supply.

Many tourists who went to Darjeeling during the puja were stuck.

"Many people go trekking during Puja holidays. However, due to the bad weather, it has been cancelled for the time being. The trek to Rimbik and Sandakan is closed. The road connecting Tagda-Tinchuley and Kalijhora-Rangpo has been closed. Tourist cars were stopped at these places from Tuesday noon," a senior district official said.

There was a sudden downpour at Gorubathan near Dowers in Jalpaiguri district on Tuesday afternoon, while large clouds over the mountains cut down visibility.

Apart from hilly areas like Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Tajdar and plains of Siliguri were also affected by rains. The road near Rimbick's Palmajua Bridge collapsed and the road was closed. With road repairs not so easy in this area and to avoid danger, trekking to Rimbik and Sandakpur has been kept closed for the next 12 hours.

Meanwhile, a road in Kalimpong also collapsed due to landslide, and communications with Sikkim was been cut off, forcing tourists to return midway.

There were some accidents due to the rain.

A house collapsed in Takda, but no member of the household were injured. A car hit a rock and fell straight into the ditch, injuring its passengers. They were taken to hospital but were released after initial treatment.

According to the meteorological office, the rain is likely to continue in north Bengal. Apart from Darjeeling, heavy to very heavy rainfall is predicted in Alipurduar and North and South Dinajpur districts in the next 24 hours. The rain is likely to decrease from Thursday onwards.