Landslides disrupt NH 31A

Siliguri / Kurseong : A series of fresh landslides late last night disrupted traffic movement on NH 31A.

The highway connects Sikkim and Kalimpong with the rest of the country

The mudslips occurred at Hatisuray, Melli (50km from here) and between Likhubir and Teestabazar (40km from here). The BRO had cleared the debris at Hatisuray, 26km from here, yesterday and vehicles were allowed to pass after being stranded for two weeks. Today the road was opened after three in the afternoon.

“We cleared the debris near Hatisuray yesterday evening with the help of National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) workers. But heavy showers last night again led to the blocking of the road,” said a BRO official.

The met office at Jalpaiguri has forecast the possibility of heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours. Kalimpong and Sevoke have recorded 153.4mm and 86.5mm of rainfall respectively in the past 24 hours.

The road link from Siliguri to Kalimpong via Gorubathan and Lava is yet to be opened.

“The BRO officials have assured us that the road will be restored within the next 24 hours, if the weather permits. Restoration work is also going on in different parts of NH 31A,” said Darjeeling district magistrate Rajesh Pandey.

In Kurseong, boulders blocked NH 55 at 14th Mile around 7.30 this morning. The debris covered the entire road stopping toy train services from Siliguri to Kurseong. Heavy vehicles that mostly use NH 55 while going to Darjeeling were left stranded for nearly seven hours. Smaller cars used the alternative routes via Pankhabari and Rohini.

“The road was cleared by 2pm. However, the toy train tracks are still under the debris. We expect to remove the debris by tomorrow,” said Dibyendu Das the subdivisional officer of Kurseong.

This is the second time in less than a week that boulders came down at 14th Mile leading to closure of the road. Last time the road was closed for three hours.

Source: The Telegraph