Overview

• Official reports put deaths in the Darjeeling hills at 23, including 11 in Mirik and five Nepal nationals, with five additional fatalities reported in Jalpaiguri’s Nagrakata.
• Mamata Banerjee inspected the collapsed Dudhia bridge, ordered a hume‑pipe temporary link within 15 days for light vehicles, and directed expedited work on a permanent PWD bridge and repairs to Rohini Road.
• The Chief Minister handed Rs 5 lakh cheques to next of kin, promised a Home Guard job for one family member within 15 days with relaxed criteria, and announced community kitchens, document‑reissue camps, and scholarships.
• Union minister Kiren Rijiju surveyed affected sites, said the Centre will assist and that any ‘national disaster’ designation is a technical matter, and noted coordination through SDRF support.
• With improving weather, authorities stepped up evacuations and searches, while a police complaint was filed after attacks on BJP MP Khagen Murmu and MLA Shankar Ghosh; Murmu remains hospitalised with facial injuries and no arrests have been reported.