Toll in Darjeeling landslides rises to 24, rescue ops on as several people remain missing
Darjeeling (WB) (PTI): The toll in the devastating landslides in West Bengal's Darjeeling district rose to 24, as disaster management personnel continued the rescue operation on Monday with several people still missing and thousands of tourists stranded in cut-off hill pockets, officials said.
North Bengal Development Minister Udayan Guha said the toll rose with the recovery of one more body late Sunday night.
"The situation remains extremely challenging. Several people are still missing, and the toll is likely to go up. Continuous rainfall is hampering the rescue operations," he told PTI.
The landslides, triggered by over 300 mm of rain in just 12 hours, have ravaged the Darjeeling hills and the Dooars region at the foothills, officials said.
Among the worst-affected areas are Mirik, Sukhiapokhri and Jorebunglow in Darjeeling, and Nagrakata in Jalpaiguri district, they said.
The rescue operations, led by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), were continuing across multiple sites, with heavy earth-moving machinery being used to locate people feared trapped under mounds of debris, they added.
"Clearing operations are underway at more than 40 landslide points. Our teams are working around the clock to reopen the Mirik-Darjeeling and Sukhiapokhri roads," an official said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to visit the affected areas later in the day.
The district administration has set up relief camps in coordination with the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and local NGOs, an official said.
"Food, blankets, medicines, and drinking water are being provided to all displaced families," he said.
An official of the GTA, the semi-autonomous body that administers the Darjeeling hills, said road connectivity to several hamlets remained severed even 24 hours after the disaster.
"Entire slopes have caved in, bridges washed away, and large portions of roads are buried under mud. Helicopter sorties may be needed to reach some interior villages," he said.
Hundreds of visitors who had travelled to the hills for Durga Puja vacations remained stranded as the arterial roads to Siliguri at the foothills were blocked.
Efforts are being made to help them reach Siliguri in batches via alternative routes, an official said.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall may continue in the region till Tuesday morning, with an alert issued for Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, and Cooch Behar districts, an IMD official said.
"Given the saturated soil and ongoing rain, the risk of fresh landslides remains high," he said.
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PM must clarify whether he endorses Sarma's 'utterly shameful' remarks on Kharge: Priyanka
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New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday said the use of "abusive" language by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is "utterly shameful" and added Prime Minister Narendra Modi must clarify whether he endorses this "insult".
Sarma had triggered a row on Tuesday when he hit out at Kharge, saying that he was "speaking like a mad man" due to old age, after the latter put the onus on central agencies to probe the charges made against the Assam chief minister.
In a post in Hindi on X, Priyanka Gandhi said, "The kind of abusive and derogatory language used by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma against the Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, is utterly shameful and unacceptable."
She said Kharge is one of the most senior leaders in the country and serves as an enlightened representative not only of the Congress party but also of the Dalits and the marginalised sections of the nation.
"By insulting him, the BJP chief minister has insulted crores of people across the country," she said.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi must clarify to the nation: does he endorse this insult directed at crores of Indians?" she said.
The Congress on Tuesday accused Sarma of insulting party chief Kharge and demanded an unconditional apology from him for his "deplorable conduct" that it alleged reflects the "anti-Dalit mindset" of the BJP.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday had said the use of "derogatory language" against party chief Mallikarjun Kharge by Sarma was an insult to the entire SC/ST community, and the silence of Prime Minister Modi on the matter "is not his helplessness, but his consent".
"If the prime minister sees an attack on the dignity of crores of Dalits in the country and does not speak up - he is not only shirking his responsibility, but is also a party to that insult," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.
Gandhi said the use of "vulgar and derogatory language" by Sarma against Kharge "is entirely condemnable, shameful, and unacceptable".
"Kharge ji is a senior and popular Dalit leader of the country - his experience, stature, and prestige are unparalleled. Insulting him is not an insult to one individual alone, but also to crores of people from the SC-ST community in this country," he posted.
This, he said, just reflected the "old and premeditated mindset" of the BJP-RSS and was nothing new.
"Whether it is the insult to Babasaheb Ambedkar, belittling Dalit leaders, or personal attacks on representatives of the SC-ST community - the history of BJP and RSS bears witness that whenever a Dalit leader speaks the truth, they stoop to humiliate him," Gandhi said.
"This is their ideology, this is their true character and face," he added.
Posing a direct question to the prime minister, he asked, "Do you support Himanta Sarma's use of this language? Your silence is not helplessness, it is consent."
