After 36 Killed in Darjeeling Landslides, Locals Lash Out at Political Apathy

Survivors allege shortage of drinking water and medicines days after the disaster struck North Bengal.

It all began on the intervening Saturday night, between 4 and 5 October, when heavy downpour lashed across parts of North Bengal, stranding tourists and displacing locals.

(Photo: PTI/Altered by Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

From coastal villages to forest heartlands, The Quint is telling the full story of how climate change is reshaping lives and ecosystems in India. Help us do more. Become a member.

Rhitama Dey of West Bengal's Barrackpore had gone up to a remote homestay in Darjeeling for the Durga Puja holidays when the deluge hit. It all began on the intervening Saturday night, between 4 and 5 October, a day after festivities officially wound up.

In sync with the forecast of the Indian Meteorological Department, heavy rains started across several parts of the state, including North Bengal. Rains also occurred in parts of neighbouring Nepal and Bhutan—and the adjoining state of Sikkim. As a result of the torrential downpour, rivers like Jaldhaka, Teesta, and Balason began to swell. Floods and landslides triggered by these overflowing rivers have so far claimed 36 lives across North Bengal.

“I was at a homestay in Kafergaon in Darjeeling district. Around 6 pm on Saturday, it started to rain heavily. The storm and downpour made it feel like the homestay would collapse," Dey told The Quint.

Dey arrived in Darjeeling on 2 October. It had already been raining in Siliguri by then.

"The National Highway 10, which runs along the Teesta towards Sikkim, was open. But the river was swelling. Last monsoon, the Teesta had washed away a large part of that road. Although not fully repaired, tourists were still allowed to use it."

Rhitama Dey

Deeming the route unsafe, Dey chose instead to travel from Kurseong to Kafergaon via the newly constructed National Highway 717. After Saturday’s storm and rain, however, the NH-10 was closed, effectively stranding Dey and thousands of other tourists in the remote area.

Tourists Stranded with Little Help

According to Dey, stranded tourists received no administrative help before or after Saturday’s storm. The homestay owner and locals helped her. Naturally, the question arises, despite advance warnings of heavy rain, why were tourists allowed up the hills at all?

The state administration claims that tourists were supported in every possible way. On Sunday and Monday, tourists trapped in disaster-hit areas were brought to safety.

Among the worst affected by Saturday’s calamity was Mirik in Darjeeling. Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, and Cooch Behar were also impacted.

According to administrative sources, floodwaters from the Balason river descending from Sikkim impacted Mirik. In Mirik alone, 14 people lost their lives, including a child.

The swelling Balason also washed away a concrete bridge in Doodhiya. At least a hundred people across Mirik and surrounding areas have lost their homes and remain displaced.

Even after river levels started receding from Sunday, electricity service has not returned to many places. Locals have also complained of a lack of drinking water. The important Hill Cart Road and Rohini Road in Siliguri were nibbled by the Balason river.

Alongside Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri district was also severely affected by Saturday’s rains. According to reports, 17 people have died in this district, while 4-5 remain missing. Of them, 12 deaths were reported from Bamangdanga tea garden area in Nagrakata.

TMC Remained MIA

As soon as the rain subsided, relief efforts were launched by the administration, but the state's Opposition parties alleged that the aid has been inadequate.

At the same time, various branches of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) have already become active. The Left has once again mobilised its Red Volunteers, who gained attention during the COVID-19 relief drives.

Somaru Roy, a resident of Charerbari village in Jalpaiguri district, lost everything in Saturday’s rain. Standing in a relief line on Tuesday, he told The Quint, “I had a wattle and daub house. Around 7 pm on Saturday, the Jaldhaka river swept everything away. I had four cows and 5-6 goats. All is gone. At home, I had Rs 10,000 in cash, along with our family's Aadhaar cards, ST certificates, and all government papers. All of it got washed away.”

The situation of almost 250 families in Roy's village is nearly identical. Since Saturday evening, they have been spending nights under nearby makeshift tarpaulins.

“We have received no help from the administration. Various political parties and organisations are giving us relief, and we are somehow surviving on that. There is a shortage of drinking water, medicines, and children’s food.”

Somaru Roy

According to administrative sources, Nagrakata block in Jalpaiguri was flooded mainly by the Jaldhaka and Diana rivers descending from Bhutan. In Dhupguri and Maynaguri, too, the Jaldhaka river triggered devastation.

Arpan Pal, district president of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), Jalpaiguri, leading the Red Volunteers' team, told The Quint that in Dhupguri block alone, 1,500 homes have been wiped out. Among them, 50-60 were pucca houses made of bricks.

In Maynaguri, 450 homes were wiped out. "Though shelters have been set up across the district, in many cases the affected are receiving no administrative support," Pal alleged.

CPI(M) state committee member and DYFI state president Dhrubajyoti Saha added, “We have already started collecting relief through QR codes and door-to-door drives. Central relief will be distributed in the affected areas within this week. Local relief distribution has already begun.”

Disaster Politics

On Monday, Khagen Murmu, BJP MP from Malda Uttar, and Shankar Ghosh, BJP MLA from Siliguri, visited flood-affected residents in Nagrakata, where villagers allegedly attacked them. Both the BJP leaders were injured and hospitalised. The BJP has blamed the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) for the attack.

BJP state president Shamik Bhattacharya told The Quint:

“It was not the affected people, but Trinamool miscreants from outside who carried out the attack. Police did not help us. The situation is unimaginable... there’s no drinking water, no food. Instead of focusing on relief, Trinamool is angry that we came here to stand with the people.”

Shamik Bhattacharya, BJP West Bengal President

Bhattacharya claimed the locals are BJP supporters, and that is why the TMC orchestrated the attack.

“The state administration is not helping. People themselves are standing by one another. Workers of the National Disaster Management Authority are risking their lives to deliver relief. Until Sunday evening, the state administration was absent.”

Even BJP MLA Shikha Chatterjee, TMC MLA Nirmal Roy, and BJP MLA Manoj Kumar Oraon faced public anger in flood-hit areas.

Meanwhile, even as North Bengal reeled under severe disaster, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was seen dancing with Tollywood stars at the Kolkata Durga Puja Carnival on Sunday. Bearing that criticism, she reached North Bengal on Monday.

“Our North Bengal has been flooded by waters from Bhutan and Sikkim. This is a man-made flood. We already manage Bihar's and Uttar Pradesh’s floodwaters, and now this massive volume of water. Within 12 hours, there was 300 mm of rainfall. Where are we supposed to drain this water?”

Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister, West Bengal

The Chief Minister said that more than 500 tourists were brought down from the hills to the plains on Monday, adding they won't have to bear any hotel or travel costs. At the same time, she demanded the operationalisation of the India-Bhutan River Commission with West Bengal as a member. She has also alleged that the Centre doesn’t provide funds for flood relief.

Additionally, she announced Rs 5 lakh compensation for the family of each deceased. However, informed quarters note that in Jalpaiguri district alone, 10,000 people have been rendered homeless. Their savings and government documents have been washed away, and the crisis cannot be solved merely with financial compensation.

Blame Game 

According to Gautam Deb, Mayor of Siliguri Corporation in the Darjeeling foothills and prominent TMC leader of North Bengal, communication in the region is being restored with "war-like urgency". A Bailey bridge has been constructed at the site of the collapsed bridge in Doodhiya. Power connections have been cut in several places to prevent electrocution in stagnant waters, and about 1,000 electricity poles damaged by the rains are currently being repaired.

Speaking about what caused the deluge, Deb said, "In Sikkim, around 10-12 hydropower dams have been built on the Teesta. The sudden flooding was caused by the rain, when they all released water at once, causing the disaster to unfold here."

"Since the India-Bhutan River Commission has not been formed, Bhutan’s rivers remain uncontrolled. When I was a minister, I tried multiple times to discuss this with the Centre, but it yielded no results."

Gautam Deb, Mayor, Siliguri, West Bengal

Deb also feels that situation became even more severe this time as disaster struck both hills and the plains.

In response, the Union Jal Shakti Ministry issued a statement, saying that an India-Bhutan Joint Team has already been formed, which includes officials from West Bengal, to regulate Bhutan’s rivers. The statement added that a meeting was held in Bhutan’s Paro city to address dredging and erosion problems of eight rivers flowing into West Bengal from Bhutan.

The Centre also claimed that they have cleared Rs 1,290 crore for flood management.

But people like Roy, who have lost everything, refuse to be dragged into this political blame game. Their only fear is, if the Special Intensive Revision is implemented in the state in the coming months, where will they get the necessary documents from?

(Anindya Hazra is an independent journalist covering politics in West Bengal.)