DARJEELING,: Incessant rainfall since last light left a trail of destruction in different parts of the hills with a landslide also claiming its first victim this year in Darjeeling.
With landslides damaging houses along with blocking roads in various parts of Darjeeling, the body of one 78-year-old Raghubir Rai of Bijuwa Goan falling under Pulungdung Gram Panchayat in Sukhia Block was recovered from the debris covering his house.
According to locals, the incident at Pulungdung took place in the wee hours of the morning when Rai was keeping himself warm by a fire in his kitchen when a landslide from above covered his house. Local people recovered his body from the debris. The other four people in his family remained unharmed.
On the other hand, there were reports of a house being damaged by landslide in places like Rock Garden with there being no casualties.
Landslides were also reported in places like Lamba Dara in Alubari, Locha Nagar near Botanical Garden in Darjeeling posing threat to houses nearby.
Roads were blocked in many places like Gopaldhura in Lower Singtam where trees and mudslide blocked the road with a similar case seen in the road connecting Rimbick via Manebhnajyang to Darjeeling where landslides were reported in different places along the road stretch.
Trees falling in the Sukhia-Pokhri route near LepchaJagat in two places were also blocked, only to be cleared later in the evening.
Road blockages were reported in between Bada Patabung to Darjeeling where portions of it caved in many places. At Bloomfield-Rishihat roads have been damaged in various places like lower Dhuppidara, Rock Garden, Mandalhatta making it impossible for vehicles to ply. Major cracks and potholes have developed in the road stretch.
Similarly, a portion of the road also collapsed in NH 110 between Jorebunglow and Rangbull but was open for traffic with only a side of it caving in.
Water was also seen overflowing and damaging the newly constructed concrete bridge at Balwabas disconnecting the route there from Darjeeling. The bridge was constructed by locals under the initiative taken by Hamro Party president Ajoy Edwards.
Edwards however claimed that only the railings and lights had been washed away and that it would be repaired within two weeks or so.
Jamuney, a tourist spot, also saw massive damage due to the continuous rainfall with the river there rising, and landslides reported in different places there. Water also entered the Jamuney Park there submerging some parts of it along with the muddy water entering the artificial lake there. The bridge there has also been covered with mud and water due to which the movement of vehicles has been stopped from there.
In Kalimpong district, boulders falling at Chitrey blocked the road to Kalimpong for some hours only to be cleared after some time for traffic.
