Relentless rains since last night have plunged north Bengal — from Malda to the Hills — into chaos, claiming lives, crippling vital highways, and triggering large-scale flooding.
Tragedy struck Sahudangi near Siliguri when a boundary wall collapsed onto a makeshift shelter, killing two children, including a girl. In Malda’s Dakshin Chandipur, a newly-built section of the ‘ring embankment’ on the Fulahar river gave way around 6 a.m, unleashing floodwaters into Bhutni Diara island and submerging vast areas. The Fulahar, already in spate, is gushing into supposedly protected zones, reviving fears of a repeat of last year’s devastation.
The downpour has also hammered the region’s fragile road network. A bridge on NH-717A collapsed, and the last functional stretch of NH-10 at 29th Mile — already restricted to light vehicles — has been completely washed away. These disruptions have left Kalimpong district officials scrambling ahead of planned Independence Day celebrations, with tourist movement and emergency supplies jeopardised.
The NHIDCL has announced restrictions on the movement of heavy vehicles from 12-15 August.
Malda district magistrate Nitin Singhania rushed to the flood-hit zone, reporting to Nabanna and placing NDRF, civil defence, and local teams on standby. More than 1.5 lakh residents of Bhutni Diara, spread across three gram panchayats, face displacement. Public announcements are underway to move them to safety.
The embankment, built at a cost of Rs 1.35 crore to shield the island from floods, failed barely a year after a similar breach by the Ganga. TMC MLA Sabitri Mitra called the collapse “unexpected” and accused CPI-M and BJP leaders of deliberately removing sandbags to trigger the breach for political gain — a charge both parties have flatly denied.
With rivers swelling, roads severed, and rescue teams racing against time, north Bengal remains on high alert, bracing for the next blow from nature’s fury.