Sikkim highway hit by landslides again

Gangtok , Sikkim : Officials of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) worked late into the evening today to restore traffic on NH 31A, which was hit by three new landslides since the morning.

The slides, triggered by rain, took place near Singtam Bazaar, between Singtam and Rangpo. The highway linking Sikkim with the rest of the country has been affected by nearly 30 landslides over the past two weeks.

BRO officials have been forced to create a 700m alternative route at Tarkhola, located a few kilometres from Rangpo on the Sikkim-Bengal border. A portion of NH 31A had been washed away at the spot two days ago.

“This is a temporary solution. We will carry out permanent repairs later,’ said a BRO engineer.

Sikkim’s internal road network lies in tatters. A landslide near the L.D. Kazi bridge at Sirwani, 30km from Gangtok, snapped the road link to South and West districts. A labourer was injured while a Maruti Gypsy was swept off the road and into the Teesta down below. Another vehicle, a Mahindra Savari, was hit by a boulder.

Both the vehicles were stationary and neither was occupied. A nearby tourist amenity centre was damaged and everyone inside had to be evacuated.

In West Sikkim, the roads connecting most of the important towns, including Gyalshing, Naya Bazar, Daramdin, Tashiding and Pelling are off limits for vehicles now.

The power situation is not good, especially since a landslide damaged the 66kv tower below Kamrang in West district on September 10. Gangtok went without electricity for quite sometime tonight.

Chief minister Pawan Chamling today convened an emergency meeting on the natural calamities affecting Sikkim. All senior state government officials were present at the meeting held at the Tashiling secretariat here.

Source: The Telegraph