Weather report: IMD's red alert for Bengal, tourists step out in Nainital - in Pics

Torrential rain triggered multiple landslides in hill districts of West Bengal and mountainous Sikkim on Wednesday (October 20), damaging bridges, submerging highways and throwing normal life off the track, officials of the two adjoining states said. National highway 10, the arterial road link between West Bengal and Sikkim, was blocked by massive landslides, while swollen rivers ravaged villages along its banks. The Meteorological department issued a 'red' alert for Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Alipurduar, forecasting "extremely heavy rain at one or two places" in these districts till Thursday (Oct 21) morning. Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar are likely to receive heavy to very heavy rain during the period, it said.

Road connectivity in several places of Kalimpong district, linking Kalimpong town with hamlets such as Pedong, Lava and Algara, was snapped owing to landslides, officials said. Hundreds of tourists, who thronged the hills during Durga Puja, are facing difficulty reaching railway stations and Bagdogra airport to return home, owing to the incessant rain and landslides.

Tourist town Nainital seemed to regain a sense of normalcy on Wednesday (Oct 20) after being battered by rains which cut off the place from the rest of Uttarakhand, inundated its roads and kept visitors confined to their hotel rooms. The Kumaon region, under which Nainital falls, has been the worst hit by the rains which began Sunday night, killing at least 46 people in the state as houses collapsed and bridges were washed away by swollen rivers. In Nainital, tourists woke up to a bright morning without a trace of rain on Wednesday and were out on the streets for shopping and sightseeing. Taxis had begun running through the town.

(Pic: ANI)

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday (Oct 20) inspected the flood-hit areas of Khatima and interacted with the residents of the town. Dhami reached Khatima on a tractor. He was also accompanied by Ajay Bhatt, the Minister of State (MoS) for Defence and a Lok Sabha MP from Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand. Speaking to ANI, Dhami said that a lot of loss had occurred, especially to the farmers and the instructions had been issued to the administration to provide compensation for the same. 

(Pic: ANI; file photo of earlier aerial inspection of flood-hit state)

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has rescued more than 1,300 people from flood-affected areas of Uttarakhand. The force has also deployed nine teams in West Bengal that has been similarly battered by heavy rains. Similarly, seven NDRF teams have been deployed in various districts of Uttar Pradesh like Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Bahraich in view of "flood threat due to discharge of water from Uttarakhand and Nepal". Twelve NDRF teams are also deployed in Kerala to undertake relief and rescue operations in rains and flood affected areas.

(Pic: ANI)