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Kolkata, Oct 10 (IANS) The situation in flood and landslide-hit hills in North Bengal became more normal in the last 24 hours on Friday, with no fresh casualties reported during this period.
The total official death toll stood at 39 as of Thursday morning, according to data compiled by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the district administrations in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri. The number remained the same on Friday morning also.
During the last 24 hours, the work of restoration of essential infrastructure has gained further momentum. With the completion of repair work on many roads in the mountains, communication facilities in the areas have improved. Electricity connections have also been restored in the mountains, although not completely.
However, it is quite uncertain as to when normal academic practice will resume in schools located in the hills, given that most of these institutions have been extensively damaged due to floods and landslides.
According to preliminary estimates, a total of 18 schools in the hills of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong have been completely or partially damaged, and it is still uncertain when these institutions will function again.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will once again leave for North Bengal on October 13 and this time her tour will be limited to the mountains only. The Chief Minister had visited North Bengal earlier this week and his activities during that time were mainly limited to the plains.
Meanwhile, a loss due to damage to state property in two hill districts of West Bengal, Darjeeling and Kalimpong, has been provisionally estimated at Rs 10.62 crore amid natural disasters in the hill, Terai and Dooars regions of the state.
However, this is not the final figure, and the exact figure of damage caused to public property in these two hill districts will be available only after some time.
Damage figures for Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar, two districts covering the Terai and Dooars regions, are yet to be calculated, and once done, the total loss of state property in all four districts will be much higher.
According to damage details compiled and provided by the district authorities of Darjeeling and Kalimpong on Thursday, the damage was caused by destruction or damage to roads, culverts and water tanks, among others.
The blocks in the hills where roads have suffered the most damage include Pedong, Lawa, Gorubathan and Kalimpong.
–IANS
Source/Red