IMD issues gusty winds & thunderstorms warnings for North Bengal districts

Darjeeling/ Cooch Behar: The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued yellow weather warnings of thunderstorms (gusty winds and rain) in the North Bengal districts for the next four days. The region has been witnessing thunderstorms from the wee hours of Monday with light snowfall in Sandakphu (3636m, the highest point of Bengal.) The thunderstorm left a trail of destruction in Cooch Behar with losses to the Electricity department pegged at Rs 2 crore in the district alone.

Sandakphu, the tourist hotspot, witnessed light snowfall from the wee hours of Monday to around 8 am in the morning. The tourist footfall recorded on Monday at Sandakphu was 84.

“An upper air cyclonic circulation lies over Northeast Bangladesh at 0.9 km above mean sea level. A trough in westerlies between 3.1 & 9.6 km above mean sea level runs along Long. 82°E to the north of Lat. 19°N. Due to favourable wind patterns and moisture incursion from Bay of Bengal, moderate to severe thunderstorm activity is likely over the districts of Bengal,” stated a special weather bulletin issued by the IMD.

The IMD has issued an Orange weather warning for thunderstorms and gusty winds for North Bengal districts for Monday. For April 29, 30 and May 2, the IMD has issued Yellow weather warnings. The forecasts are thunderstorms with gusty wind (30-40 kmph), lightning and light to moderate rain likely to occur at one or two places over all the districts of North Bengal. Efforts were on to evacuate tourists stranded in the landslides of North Sikkim and bring them to Gangtok.

Meanwhile, a severe storm that struck on Sunday night has caused an estimated loss of around Rs 2 crore to the Electricity department in Cooch Behar district. Heavy rain accompanied by strong winds affected several parts of the district, including areas around Cooch Behar city, as well as Mathabhanga, Dinhata and Tufanganj. The storm uprooted numerous trees and snapped electric poles, resulting in widespread power outages.

On Monday, Regional Manager of the Cooch Behar district Electricity department, Biswajit Das, addressed a Press conference regarding the situation. He stated that approximately 201 electric poles were uprooted or damaged across the district, along with 37 transformers. The district comprises three divisions — Mathabhanga, Dinhata and Cooch Behar — with Mathabhanga suffering the most extensive damage.

Areas such as Paradubi, Kurshamari, Bairagihat and Hemkumari in the Mekhliganj region of Mathabhanga Division were among the worst affected. Damage was also reported in Tufanganj, Boxirhat and Pundibari under the Cooch Behar division, along with certain parts of Dinhata.

Biswajit Das further informed that 700 employees, supported by 92 mobile vans, are actively working across the district to restore electricity services. Department officials are personally visiting affected areas to monitor repair work. Electric poles have been stocked at various stations and are being dispatched as needed. Since last night, the department has received 1,389 service requests and efforts have been made to resolve all of them.

Power supply is expected to be fully restored across the district by Monday night. The regional manager also mentioned that the department’s toll-free helpline will remain operational 24/7 throughout the rainy season.