Overview
- The state’s new task force held its first meeting on October 18 with ministers Moloy Ghatak and Udayan Guha, GTA chief executive Anit Thapa and senior officials in attendance, following the October 5 disaster that killed more than 30 people and displaced thousands.
- Officials said the panel reviewed relief measures and set priorities that include housing damage assessment, road restoration, permanent infrastructure repair, desiltation and plantation drives.
- Darjeeling currently has 19 shelters housing 640 people, with essentials being distributed, and more than 200 assessment teams and 21 outreach camps assisting with damage reviews and re-issuance of documents.
- Abhishek Banerjee donated ₹1 lakh to the WBSDMA fund, with MPs Mahua Moitra, Derek O’Brien, Ritabrata Banerjee and Prakash Chik Baraik matching the amount, and MLAs Paresh Chandra Adhikary, Khokan Das and Nisith Kumar Malik also contributing.
- Darjeeling MP Raju Bista reported his convoy was stoned on October 18 near Sukhia Pokhari, and police said a case was lodged against an unknown person, with earlier incidents reported involving BJP leaders Khagen Murmu and Sankar Ghosh in Jalpaiguri.