The head of a panchayat samiti and her driver had a close shave on Tuesday evening in Alipurduar district as their car got stuck in a stream during a flash flood because of a sudden bout of heavy rainfall after Cyclone Remal.

Asha Bomjan, the sabhapati of Madarihat panchayat samiti, was on her way home in Totopara, around 28km away from Madarihat, when the incident happened.

Sources said that around 7pm, Asha left for Totopara in her car on the Madarihat-Totopara road.

The vehicle crossed the dry beds of Bangri and Haori rivers and reached Dayamara, another stream which cuts the route.

“It was raining heavily then. Initially, the water level was low but within minutes, there was a flash flood and water started entering the vehicle. As almost half of the vehicle submerged in the water, both my driver and I jumped into the water,” said Asha.

Holding each other’s hands, they carried their cell phones in umbrellas. But they were swept away.

“The water almost reached our necks. We started floating and suddenly spotted a tree. We desperately moved towards it and gripped it hard,” she added.

Around 9pm, as water levels receded, they could make it back to the bank of the stream. Asha then called up forest officials, police and her relatives.

“We were worried as elephants frequently moved through the area. We switched on our cell phones to keep a watch around. The car was also swept away by the river but got stuck in a bush,” she said.

Later on Tuesday night, a police team, along with foresters and Asha's brother, reached the spot. Eventually, she reached home in Totopara around 4am on Wednesday. The SUV was also taken out of the stream.

Asha said that on May 27 last year, she had a similar experience at the Titi river that also flows through the area. “But yesterday's experience was more horrible and scary,” she said.

Workers clear the trees on Wednesday uprooted during Tuesday night's storm in Siliguri. Picture by Passang Yolmo

Incessant rainfall across different parts of sub-Himalayan Bengal and in the neighbouring state of Sikkim led another stream in Madarihat block to swell, change its course and wash away a 50-metre-long stretch of a road that connects a number of tea gardens and Totopara.

Daily commuters and students had to cross the stretch on foot and then take vehicles to reach different destinations.

In Sikkim, the Teesta river swelled, prompting administrative officials to visit the low-lying areas on the river bank in the Himalayan state.

As the water descended, it flooded the unprotected areas in the Kranti block of Jalpaiguri in Bengal on the right bank of the river.

Sources said around 60 houses and a vast stretch of agricultural land got inundated. The residents, block officials said, have been shifted to two private schools and were provided with relief.

The rain, accompanied by a storm, uprooted or partially damaged around 30 trees in different areas of Siliguri. Teams were engaged to clear the trees, mayor Gautam Deb said.

Additional reporting by our Siliguri bureau