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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday air-dashed to the quake-hit areas in north Bengal, even as the death toll in the State following Sunday's tremors rose to 11.
Deaths were mostly reported from Kurseong, Kalimpong in the Hills and Jalpaiguri, Siliguri in the terrain region. Three people died at North Dinajpur also, State Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh said.
The Chief Minister, who had asked the State Industries Minister, Partho Chattopadhyay, to rush to the devastated regions on Sunday night, too flew down to Baghdogra and announced a compensation of2 lakh for the kin of the deceased, before rushing to Kurseong, where the damage has been worst.
"The damage is extensive and frequent landslides and incessant rains have made the rescue work very difficult," Banerjee said, after holding a meeting with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader, Roshan Giri.
"People are overwhelmed by Didi's visit," GJM's Kurseong MLA Harka Bahadur Chhetri said, adding, "This is the first time it seemed that those sitting at the Writers' Buildings care for the lives and properties of the Hills' people."
Giri said the people of Darjeeling were rediscovering the Chief Minister, who had on her earlier visits won over the hearts of the locals, "but this time she touched their hearts standing by their sides."
Dil Kumari Thapa, a resident of Kurseong, whose house had collapsed and who "saw the Chief Minister from an arms distance" said, "The genuine concern with which she was enquiring about the plight of the people gave us strength in our hours of crises."
Elsewhere, Partho Chattopadhyay was working in close coordination with North Bengal Development Minister, Gautam Deb, and overseeing the rescue operations. "The Chief Minister is personally monitoring the rescue operations and two control-rooms have been set up in North Bengal and Kolkata in this regard," Ghosh said.
Deaths were mostly reported from Kurseong, Kalimpong in the Hills and Jalpaiguri, Siliguri in the terrain region. Three people died at North Dinajpur also, State Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh said.
The Chief Minister, who had asked the State Industries Minister, Partho Chattopadhyay, to rush to the devastated regions on Sunday night, too flew down to Baghdogra and announced a compensation of2 lakh for the kin of the deceased, before rushing to Kurseong, where the damage has been worst.
"The damage is extensive and frequent landslides and incessant rains have made the rescue work very difficult," Banerjee said, after holding a meeting with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader, Roshan Giri.
"People are overwhelmed by Didi's visit," GJM's Kurseong MLA Harka Bahadur Chhetri said, adding, "This is the first time it seemed that those sitting at the Writers' Buildings care for the lives and properties of the Hills' people."
Giri said the people of Darjeeling were rediscovering the Chief Minister, who had on her earlier visits won over the hearts of the locals, "but this time she touched their hearts standing by their sides."
Dil Kumari Thapa, a resident of Kurseong, whose house had collapsed and who "saw the Chief Minister from an arms distance" said, "The genuine concern with which she was enquiring about the plight of the people gave us strength in our hours of crises."
Elsewhere, Partho Chattopadhyay was working in close coordination with North Bengal Development Minister, Gautam Deb, and overseeing the rescue operations. "The Chief Minister is personally monitoring the rescue operations and two control-rooms have been set up in North Bengal and Kolkata in this regard," Ghosh said.
