Betgara, Mainaguri: Residents in the flood-devastated Betgara area of North Bengal are engaged in a desperate search through the wreckage of their homes, hoping to recover cherished possessions and essential documents washed away by the deluge. As the community attempts to rebuild, the immediate concern for many is the retrieval of paperwork vital for accessing government support and securing their futures.

The scramble highlights the lasting impact of the disaster. Sunita Roy, a resident of Khatorbari, was among those whose homes were completely submerged. While the waters took much, she managed a small but significant find: her late husband Digen Roy’s death certificate, which she uses to claim her widow’s pension. Clutching the vital document, she sat outside, letting it dry in the sun, a poignant reminder of both her loss and a practical lifeline. “If I hadn’t found this, I would have had to run around to get my widow’s allowance,” she stated, expressing relief that at least the immediate hurdle of securing her future benefits was cleared.

Across the village, other families face similar anxieties. Sangita Roy, a twenty-year-old college freshman and a Taekwondo black belt, has lost all her academic certificates in the flooding. Her family is now worried about how she will continue her education without them. They have made an urgent appeal to the administration for assistance in retrieving or reissuing her essential school and college documents.

A different scene unfolded at one corner of the village, where a family laid out waterlogged notebooks and textbooks on the roadside to dry. Shibhu Roy explained that the books belonged to his son, a second-grade student at a local child education centre. The floodwaters had ruined everything inside their home, but he was determined to salvage his child’s study materials.

The entire village is a landscape of debris, with residents digging through mud and wreckage, hoping to reclaim anything spared by the fury of the Jaldhaka river. The destruction has been so complete that neighbors are now questioning the very borders of their properties, as river silt and erosion have completely erased old landmarks and boundary lines.

Tourism Sector Hit, But Situation Gradually Improving

While the immediate focus remains on humanitarian and recovery efforts, the disaster has delivered a significant blow to the tourism industry across North Bengal. The floods caused widespread road closures, particularly in the hills of Darjeeling and Kalimpong and the forests of the Dooars, leading to mass cancellations during what is typically a peak festive season. Hotels, homestays, and local businesses, which rely heavily on tourist footfall, are facing substantial losses.

However, with time, the situation in North Bengal is improving. Restoration work is underway, with authorities clearing roads and beginning to repair damaged infrastructure. As connectivity is gradually restored and the weather stabilizes, tourist footfall is slowly increasing in some of the less-affected areas, offering a cautious ray of hope for the region’s vital tourism sector.

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