Bengal flood: Mamata Banerjee blames DVC, Centre as hills grapple with deadly calamity

Mamata relaunched the same allegations, which she had passed when Kolkata was flooded by rain last month ahead of Durga Puja, as she flew to North Bengal to inspect the damages caused.

"The fact of the matter is there is a limit to how much we can manage water. West Bengal is the victim of water released by Bihar, Uttar Pradesh through Farakka Barrage. How will our water get drained? DVC releases water wilfully to save Jharkhand. But why are they not doing desiltation?

"What's the use of dams if they don't have the capacity to store water? It would have been better for us if there was no dam because that would have facilitated the natural waterflow. West Bengal is facing the downside of it," she said before flying out.

The Chief Minister informed that her government has instructed the local hotels in the affected areas to allow the tourists to stay until the administration rescues them.

The government has arranged Volvo Buses for the rescue operation, the CM informed.

Training her guns at the Centre, Mamata said, "Ganga is not reformed despite propaganda in the name of Namami Ganga. Ahead of the elections, the ruling BJP and Government of India give bribes through the agencies and by politically using the Election Commission of India but they don't release funds throughout the year."

On the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, heavy rain battered the hills with Mirik being the worst-hit zone in the northern part of the state.

At least 28 people have died and over a dozen are still missing.

Thirteen bodies were recovered only from Mirik, which is known for its serene natural beauty, tea gardens, and peaceful lakeside setting — making it a popular getaway in the Darjeeling hills.

Road connectivity in key routes has been disrupted in the region.

The hill station usually remains very busy in this part of the year with tourists pouring during the festival season.

Officials warned that the death toll may rise as rescue operations by the Darjeeling District Police continue amid persistent bad weather.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued two red alerts overnight for all six districts of Sikkim, warning of heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, and gusty winds up to 40 kmph.

By early morning on October 5, the alert was downgraded to orange, but officials said rainfall is likely to continue until October 7.

Authorities have also cautioned that downstream flash floods may occur in parts of north Bengal due to heavy rainfall in neighbouring Bhutan.

In 24 hours from 8 am on Saturday, Darjeeling received 261 mm of rain, Cooch Behar 192 mm, Jalpaiguri 172 mm, The Times of India reported.

Gajoldoba in another North Bengal district Jalpaiguri received massive 300 mm of rain.