'Man-made disaster': Environmentalists blame unplanned urbanisation for Darjeeling landslides

Environmentalists described the landslides in Darjeeling as a "man-made ecological disaster", the inevitable outcome of decades of deforestation, unplanned urbanisation and poor governance that have pushed the fragile Himalayan slopes to the brink.

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They said the way forward lies in decentralised disaster planning, strict enforcement of construction norms, and climate-sensitive development to prevent the 'Queen of the Hills' from turning into a recurring disaster zone. The picturesque Darjeeling hills, long a refuge for weary travellers, now bear the scars of nature's fury. Twelve hours of relentless rain triggered a chain of deadly landslides that killed over 20 people and left scores homeless.

The serene slopes have turned into sites of wreckage and despair -- a grim reminder that nature's retribution often follows human neglect. Environmentalists and experts who have long warned of such a catastrophe said this was not an unpredictable calamity, but the result of years of ecological exploitation and administrative apathy.

"The hills are paying for decades of neglect -- deforestation, unplanned roads, and reckless construction have made the terrain unstable. The rain is only the trigger; the real cause is how we have treated the mountains," said environmentalist Sujit Raha, a member of the North Bengal Science Centre. "There is no proper disaster management plan in place to tackle such crises. The administration and authorities must take this problem seriously and not treat it as an annual tragedy," he said.