Bimal Gurung wants accurate landslide damage assessment

GTA chief executive Bimal Gurung today said a co-ordinated effort by the hill body and the Darjeeling district administration was needed to make an accurate assessment of the damage caused by the rains and landslides in the region so as to get adequate relief from the Centre.

The GTA chief had in the past contested the preliminary report on the July 1 rain and landslides prepared by the district administration, which had pegged the losses at Rs 27 crore. This, however, did not include the damage caused to infrastructure like roads and bridges.

"I held a meeting with BDOs (block development officers) and others and requested them to visit the areas where they had not gone and carry out a fresh survey and prepare an accurate report. It will be better if we (GTA and district administration) can co-ordinate...I will request them (the district administration) to prepare the report in co-operation with us," he told journalists here.

In the July 1 landslides and rain, 33 people had died across the Darjeeling hills.(TT)