Iwas buried under the mud all night long. My 12-year-old daughter died sleeping right next to me, I could not save her,” Fendo Sangmu Bhutia, 35, says, wiping away her tears. Her nine-year-old nephew was also buried under the same landslide. As her voice chokes thinking about losing her only child, Bhutia recalls that they had gone to their maternal home in Mirik to celebrate Dashain on October 2, Nepal’s most important festival celebrated during Dasara. During this time, Hindus believe that the goddess Durga fought and won over the demon Mahishasura. The festivities ended with the funeral of two children.

On the intervening night of October 4 and 5, torrential rain lashed West Bengal’s Darjeeling district and other parts of north Bengal, triggering over 110 major landslides, as the are

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