BALURGHAT, April 19 -- A sudden storm accompanied by heavy rain and hailstorm wreaked widespread havoc across Balurghat town and adjoining areas of South Dinajpur district on Saturday night, severely disrupting normal life and snapping electricity supply in large parts of the region.
District Magistrate Balasubramanian T said: "No casualties have been reported and restoration work is in full swing, with damage assessment underway."
The storm struck around 8:30 pm, uprooting several trees and blowing away the tin roofs of houses at multiple locations. Falling trees damaged electric poles and overhead wires, triggering a complete blackout across Balurghat town and nearby rural pockets. Among the worst-hit areas were Tank More, the Power House locality, Balurghat Animal Hospital vicinity and Yuva Sangha.
Meanwhile, WBSEDCL officials reported extensive damage to power infrastructure, including nearly 100 poles and several 33 kV, 11 kV and LT lines. Siladitya Sengupta, AGM (Corporate Communication), WBSEDCL, said: "Our teams were mobilised immediately and have been working continuously under challenging conditions. Given the scale of damage, full restoration may take some time, but all-out efforts are underway to normalise the situation at the earliest."
At Tank More, tree branches blocked National Highway 512, disrupting traffic for hours. Similar situations were reported from Kamarpara and Chingishpur, while in Patiram, Parpatiram and Bahicha, large trees collapsed onto roads, hampering connectivity in rural stretches.
The hailstorm has also raised concern among farmers over likely damage to boro paddy and mango crops. Strong winds tore apart political party flags, festoons and banners across the town.
Police, disaster management teams and civic workers have been deployed across affected areas.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.