Heavy rain on Friday night and throughout Saturday triggered fresh landslides and swelled up rivers which flooded low-lying areas and damaged tea gardens in Sikkim and north Bengal.

The downpour also caused waterlogging in several areas, prompting the administrations of different districts to shift affected families to safer places.

In the Darjeeling hills, traffic on NH110 (earlier NH 55), which connects Siliguri with Kurseong and Darjeeling, was affected as a stretch of the road sank at Paglajhora (located around 30km from Siliguri) on Saturday.

“A 40-metre-long stretch of the highway sunk at Paglajhora Though we tried to restore the damaged stretches of the highway, the repairs were hampered by incessant rain. Considering the safety of passengers, we have requested the administration to stop vehicles from travelling along the stretch,” said D. Thakur, the executive engineer of PWD (NH division).

Thus, vehicles had to take the Rohini Road or alternative routes via Mirik or the Pankhabari Road.

Over the past week, this is the second major highway which connects the hills with Siliguri that got damaged due to the rain. A stretch of NH 10, which connects Sikkim and Kalimpong, remained closed for the seventh day today as the road has caved in at View Point near Birikdara.

Also, traffic on the Kalimpong-Darjeeling road via Peshok stopped as the Teesta river swelled and flooded the road near Teesta Bazar.

Because of the rainfall, the Northeast Frontier Railway authorities have suspended the regular passenger service between New Jalpaiguri-Darjeeling and vice-versa, till Sunday, citing the inclement weather conditions in the hills.

“Considering the safety of the passengers, the decision has been taken to withdraw regular passenger service (a pair of toy trains which run between NJP and Darjeeling). The decision to resume the service will be taken once the weather improves,” said an official of the DHR.

Because of the downpour, waterfalls, lakes, hilly streams and other water bodies also swelled. This made the tourism department of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration close its two major tourist attractions, the Gangamaya Park and Rock Garden, which are on the outskirts of Darjeeling.

Sources in the district disaster management office in Darjeeling said destruction had been reported from the Rangli-Rangliot and Sukhiapokhri blocks. Cracks have appeared in a wall of the PWD road at Lopchu while portions of a road that connects Takdah to Teesta Bazar, have been washed away at Soreng. Landslides also occurred in Tamsing Dhura and a few houses were also damaged in Sukhiapokhri.

In the Darjeeling civic area, minor slides have occurred in 12 municipal wards during the past 24 hours.

In Jalpaiguri, the swollen Teesta river has damaged four spurs which protest the embankment.

“Some other rivers like Jayanti, Goborjyoti, Dhaulajhora and Jogijhora have also damaged the embankments and spurs. Teesta is also eroding land in Laltongbusty and Milanpally which are in Rajganj block of Jalpaiguri district. Protection works have started on an emergency basis,” said an official of the state irrigation department.

The river has also flooded some low-lying areas and the administration has opened eight relief camps. As of now, around 750 people are staying in these relief camps.

“We are on alert. If the water levels rise, people who are living in vulnerable areas will be shifted to safer places. Due to rainfall, waterlogging has been reported in some areas of Jalpaiguri town,” said Shama Parveen, the district magistrate.

In the neighbouring Alipurduar district which has received heavy rainfall during the past six days, a number of tea gardens have been affected.

In gardens like Rahimabad, Mechpara, Central Dooars, Aryaman, Tulshipara, Dhumchipara and Joy Birpara, stretches of plantations are under water.

“Also, erosion has occurred in some gardens and there has been waterlogging near the workers’ quarters,” said a source. A similar waterlogging has been reported in eight wards of Alipurduar town.

In Malda, it has rained heavily since early this morning. Due to the downpour, waterlogging has been reported in localities like Deshbandhupara, Subhashpally, Rathbari area, No. 2 Government Colony, Buraburitala and Singhatala of Malda town and also in some blocks.

The rainfall has also led to a cave-in beside the rail track that connects Malda Town with Calcutta. Railway officials said they have inspected the site and will carry out necessary repairs.

“Train movement is normal along the stretch. However, it has been decided that trains will run at a maximum speed of 20 kilometres per hour through the stretch,” said an official.