Southwest monsoon active in sub-Himalayan Bengal and neighbouring Sikkim led to fresh bouts of heavy rain since Saturday, triggering landslides in the hills and swelling rivers in the foothills.

In Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts, a number of landslides occurred since Saturday night, damaging houses and disrupting traffic.

On Sunday morning, vehicles halted on NH55, the main highway that connects Darjeeling with Siliguri, as a slide occurred at Chunabhati under Kurseong subdivision of Darjeeling district.

Traffic came to a halt along NH10, the highway that connects Kalimpong and Sikkim with the rest of the country, as another landslide occurred in Rambhi in Kalimpong district.

The engineering cell of the NH division of state PWD engaged workers and equipment. Debris was cleared by noon in both spots after which traffic resumed.

Sources in the district disaster management office in Darjeeling said two houses got damaged because of a landslide at Godamgaon of Seeyok tea estate of Mirik subdivision. Some houses got damaged as debris came down in Rambhang-Gopaldhara area of Sukhiapokhri block.

“Some 20 people have been shifted to safer places,” said a source.

As it rained across the Dooars, residents of Chakamistripara, a locality in Odlabari of Jalpaiguri's Malbazar, resorted to protests, alleging that improper sewerage system waterlogged their area.

“We are moving through waist-deep water because of the lapses of the local panchayat,” said a resident.

Heavy rainfall in Sikkim and in Bhutan raised water levels in Teesta and Jaldhaka rivers.

Sources in the irrigation department said that on Sunday afternoon, a secondary (red) and a primary (yellow) alert was issued in unprotected and protected areas, respectively, along both banks of the Teesta and the Jaldhaka.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, it rained around 120mm in Jalpaiguri and 60mm in Siliguri in the past 24 hours (till 8.30am on Sunday).

“There is a forecast of heavy to very heavy rainfall in some places of sub-Himalayan Bengal in the next three-four days,” said a source.