The house of Moti Lal Singh, in Lower
Shiva Gram of Darjeeling, was damaged today after a huge tree branch
fell on the roof. No one was inside when the incident occurred. “I was
in my shop which is adjacent to my house when I heard a huge thud. I ran
outside to find a big branch atop the roof,” he said.
Singh’s house is a wooden structure with
a tin roof and is located right next to the Botanical garden.
Apparently, boulders from the roadside also slid down but did not reach
Singh’s house. “Luckily, my wife had left home early in the morning to
offer prayers at Mahakal
Mandir while my son started on a
pilgrimage just yesterday. But my one room house is destroyed and I am
feeling really scared because of the continuous heavy rains,” he said,
adding he would take shelter in a neighbour’s house.
Municipal officials visited the place
and conducted a survey of the area. “I rushed to the spot as soon as I
got news about the incident. Thankfully, no one was hurt even though a
room has been badly damaged. I have asked my subordinates to help the
victim,” said Amar Singh Rai, the municipality chairman.
The civic body chairman has appealed to
everyone to remain alert given the heavy rainfall while assuring every
possible support. The rains have also caused a landslide at Bhotey Bhir
on NH 10 leading to Sikkim, which disrupted vehicular movement for some
time. “Last night there was a landslide at Bhotey Bhir and debris
blocked the road. We had cleared the blockageby nine in the morning and
the road has been opened for single vehicular movement,” said Uttam
Pradhan, assistant engineer of the PWD division.
Further, a huge tree fell near the
Sevoke check-post that blocked traffic movement from the plains to the
hills. “A large tree fell near the check-post stalling traffic movement.
The tree was removed by nine in the morning with the joint effort of
the PWD and forest department,” said Anurag Srivastava, the Darjeeling
district magistrate. (EOIC)
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