Roads, Bridges Damaged As Severe Rains Trigger Landslides In North Bengal
NDTV
Normal life in parts of north Bengal was affected as torrential showers in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri triggered landslides causing damages to roads and bridges.
Torrential rains pounded the tiny Himalayan state of Sikkim and the tea growing region of North Bengal today, causing landslides which cut off National Highway-10, the main road linking Sikkim's Gangtok with the rest of the country.
The incessant downpour today saw landslides blocking the crucial National Highway-10, used both by civilian and military traffic, at the 29th Mile area in West Bengal, around 60 km from Sikkim's Rangpo border. Supporting pillars of a steel bridge at Rangpo, the gateway to Sikkim, were also damaged as the powerful Teesta river which has been in spate over the past few days, swept embankments at many points.
Normal life in parts of north Bengal was also affected today as torrential showers in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri districts triggered landslides causing damages to roads and bridges, halting or constricting traffic in various places, officials said.
Hundreds of tourists, who have thronged the hills during the Durga Puja season, are facing difficulties in travelling to their next destination or reaching railway stations or the Bagdogra airport to return home, owing to the incessant rain and landslides, officials said.
