Darjeeling, Oct. 9. - Two houses in the town were damaged
and one person suffered injuries as incessant rain continued for the
second day in Darjeeling today, running the plans of a large number
of tourists.
Heavy rain caused a house to topple at
the crowded Jawahar Bustee in the Toongsoong area around 2:30 pm.
Luckily, only one person Mr. NC Sherpa (53) was injured in the incident
and has been removed to the Sadar hospital.Officials said there were
no other report of any untoward incidents from the Hills. All major
roads stayed open and traffic plied normally. It was, however, nightmarish
for the motorists driving on the heavily-potholed roads with overflowing
side-drains.The downpour which began yesterday continued all day today
in the Hills amid a thick fog cover. The sky remained thickly overcast,
providing little hope of a let up. In the evening it turned gusty
accompanied with a sharp dip in the temperature.
Most of the tourists and residents were forced to spend time indoors.
Matters were made difficult by a daylong power cut in the town today.
Shops and streets wore a deserted look which would otherwise at this
time of the season been crowded owing to the tourists. One of them,
Mr. Ashok Biswas from Kolkata, who was here with his family for three
days, rued the time they had chosen. `The rains don't seem to
leave us. It was there in Kolkata with us and now it's the same thing
here. It just does not stop. We spent the whole morning playing cards.
It is so disappointing, he remarked, sipping tea in a restaurant alone.
His wife and children refused to come out.`
Business also suffered in the town Shopkeepers and hawkers called
it a day early, also having started late. `There is no point.
Who's going to come out in this weather?` said one of them. Amid
such dreadful weather, the only bright spot was provided by the police
who reported interesting experiences with their recently launched
helpline for tourists. (Before the start of the Pujas, the Darjeeling
police gave out two mobile numbers for tourists to call in case of
any emergency).
A few days back someone in Nadia called up the number wanting to know
about the weather in Darjeeling, said a bemused Darjeeling Superintendent
of Police, Mr. Sanjay Chander. Although the service is meant exclusively
for the tourists so that police can quickly respond to their complaints
locals have also been calling up.
`A resident called up the
number to report a fire breakout. We took his call and responded,`
the SP pointed out. There have also been tourists complaining about
stuck in traffic jams on the helpline. According to Mr. Chander, the
service actually has shown a good response. At his request the private
cellular operator who has provided the two numbers have agreed to
extend the service year round. Otherwise, it was supposed to have
ended on 30 November.
Courtesy
The Statesman |
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