Bengal, Oct 20: Heavy rains due to cloudburst continued in the hilly areas of Darjeeling and Kalimpong in North Bengal and neighbouring Sikkim, causing landslides at many places and leaving tourists stranded. Heavy damage caused by cloudburst in Gorubathan.
The National Highway 10, which connects Sikkim with West Bengal and the rest of the country, remained virtually cut off as landslides were reported from several points.
The intensity of the rains in South Bengal has come down. Coastal areas such as Canning, Haldia, and Digha received more than 100mm rain on Monday. In the last 24 hours, the amount of rain dropped to less than 25mm. Kolkata received just around 6.3mm rain.
Roads in parts of North Bengal Kalimpong, Kurseong, and Darjeeling were badly hit due to the cloudburst. The road connecting Kalimpong via Lava was closed at several places towards Kalimpong and Gorubathan. The administration has issued an advisory saying the only route which seems to be motorable was via Ghoom and Kurseong.
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Hundreds of tourists and their vehicles were stranded at Lava in Kalimpong district. In Kurseong and Sikkim, several houses were badly damaged due to the incessant rains and landslides. The additional support pillars of Rangpo Bridge connecting Sikkim with West Bengal are severely damaged.
