A major landslide on Monday, 11 August tore through the busy hill road connecting Jorebungalow to Teesta Bazar via Peshok in Darjeeling district, severing a critical artery and disrupting traffic movement on the Darjeeling-Teesta route through Tuesday. A section of the road has reportedly disappeared entirely, leaving passenger vehicles, goods trucks, and commuters stranded across the West Bengal hill corridor.

Scale of Disruption

The affected route is a primary corridor for vehicles travelling between Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Gangtok in neighbouring Sikkim, making the blockage a multi-state inconvenience. Dozens of passenger and goods vehicles were stuck at the site. Officials from the Public Works Department (PWD) and the local administration mobilised rescue teams on receiving word of the incident and launched road-clearing operations on a war footing.

As a temporary measure, authorities have instituted one-way traffic at the site to prevent further risk while full repairs are undertaken. Police personnel and rescue workers are managing the movement of stranded vehicles in a controlled manner. Goods trucks have been directed to use alternative routes until the road is restored.

Relief at '20th Mile'; Sikkim Residents Breathe Easier

In a parallel development, the '20th Mile' stretch — closed for nearly a month — was reopened for light vehicles from Monday morning. The move brought considerable relief to residents of Bardang and Singtam in Sikkim, whose daily lives had been severely disrupted by the prolonged closure. Residents of Rangpo and adjacent areas also stand to benefit from the restored access.

Fresh Weather Warning: More Rain on the Way

The respite in north Bengal may be short-lived. A fresh low-pressure area is forming over the Bay of Bengal, according to the regional meteorological office, and is expected to bring heavy rainfall across both south and north Bengal for the next several days.

From mid-week, heavy rain is forecast in several districts. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned of heavy showers at one or two locations in South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore on Thursday, with the same pattern likely to extend into Friday, 14 August, also covering West Midnapore. In north Bengal, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduar districts face heavy rain warnings for Wednesday, with light-to-moderate showers expected through Thursday and Friday.

Given rough sea conditions, fishermen have been banned from venturing into the sea from Tuesday through Friday.

Kolkata Temperature Update

In Kolkata, the maximum temperature on Monday stood at 33.02 degrees Celsius — marginally 0.08 degrees above normal — while the minimum was recorded at 27.07 degrees Celsius, also 0.09 degrees above normal. Light-to-moderate rain and thundershowers are expected across all south Bengal districts through the week.

With another low-pressure system in the making, authorities in both Bengal and Sikkim are on alert as the region braces for a fresh spell of heavy rainfall.