Darjeeling, September 09 (Siliguri Chronicle) – The project management consultant (PMC) appointed by the Union ministry of road transport and highways has prepared a set of possible measures to tackle traffic disruptions caused by frequent landslides on NH10, the key highway linking Sikkim and Kalimpong district with Siliguri and the rest of the country.
Darjeeling MP Raju Bista on Thursday met with representatives of the project management consultant (PMC) and the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), the agency responsible for maintaining the highway.
“Today, I met the experts and officials who are visiting our region to conduct a detailed survey of NH10 and determine the best way to address the problems. They will also be visiting NH717A and taking stock of the ongoing constructions and the issues that have emerged,” Bista said.
This year, landslides have repeatedly cut off connectivity along the 30km stretch of NH10 between Sevoke and Chitray in Kalimpong.
As a result, vehicles traveling between Siliguri and Sikkim or Kalimpong were forced to take long detours, adding extra distance to their journeys.
The alternative route, NH717A through the Dooars, also suffered damage on several stretches, worsening the situation.
Faced with these recurring problems, Bista met Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari in Delhi on August 20, where he pressed for permanent measures to address traffic disruptions on both NH10 and NH717A.
“Today, representatives of the PMC presented their version of the short-term and long-term solutions. The short-term solutions included erosion control measures, stabilisation of landslide-prone areas, construction of viaducts (elevated stretch of the highway), expansion of NH10 in some portions and tunnelling at some locations,” said the MP.
“In the long run, the PMC suggested multiple measures, including a new alignment of NH10, including construction of tunnels to overcome the landslide problems,” he added.
At the meeting on Thursday, the MP said prolonged road closures and traffic disruptions that the people faced this year should be curbed in the next monsoon season. “We have asked the NHIDCL officials to take proactive steps to avoid any repeat of such a situation,” he said.
MP seeks CBI probe
Raju Bista has called for a CBI probe into the abduction of 14-year-old Ishan Gurung, a resident of 10th Mile, a forest village near Sevoke on the outskirts of Siliguri.
Bista, who met the boy’s family on Thursday, said Ishan was abducted by unidentified men from NH10 on August 23.
“The state police have formed a special investigation team to find him. However, 13 days have passed since the abduction, and yet, the boy remains untraced. In such a situation, I have reached out to the governor and the chief minister, seeking their intervention,” said Bista.
“Now that the state police haven’t located the boy, I want the state to transfer the case to the CBI to trace him,” he added.
