Governor MK Narayanan arrived here on a two-day visit to the earthquake-hit Darjeeling

Darjeeling, Sep 27: Governor MK Narayanan arrived here on a two-day visit to the earthquake-hit Darjeeling hills to assess the situation after the September 18 disaster.

Mr Narayanan was driven straight to Kurseong where he visited several damaged sites and then moved to Darjeeling where he went straight to the government hospital and talked to the people.

The governor would spend the night here and visit Kalimpong tomorrow before heading for Kolkata via Siliguri.

At least eight casualties were reported from Darjeeling and property worth Rs 3445 crores damaged after the 6.8 magnitude temblor, with its epicentre at the Sikkim-Nepal border, struck a vast swathe across India.

As per an official estimate roads and bridges besides, network of the Darjeeling Heritage Train (DHR) suffered extensive damage.

Jalpaiguri Development Commissioner Amarendra Kumar Singh said 12 people were killed in the district and 60 people injured seriously.

Some 52,000 people were rendered homeless.

Mr Singh, however, said of the eight casualties in the hills, one person collapsed due to cardiac failure.

Darjeeling's District Magistrate Soumitra Mohan said roads to many villages had been shattered and connectivity between the hills and Siliguri damaged.

--UNI