Likhubhir at NH 31 A closed for 24 hours

KalimNews, Kalimpong, 15 July 2014: Border Roads Organisation has declared that National Highway 31 A near Likhubhir 17 km from Kalimpong will be closed from 6am of 16th July to 6am of 17th July

More than 50-metre stretch of the National Highway to Sikkim is breached at Likhubhir this week due to heavy rain. BRO was trying to make way for the vehicles plying in National Highway by protecting the wall on the riverside and cutting the wall of the hill. 

Throughout the last week one way traffic was maintained. Day by day the cave-in occurred at the landslide-prone Likhubhir, about a kilometre from the Teesta bridge became larger and larger. 

Today too the road was almost closed for the half of the day. Finally BRO decided to make an alternative arrangement by connecting the breached road by constructing a bailey bridge. The work will be finished by 17th July, a BRO officer said. All heavy vehicles carrying supplies and passenger carrying smaller vehicles will take the route of Lava-Gorubathan-Damdim Road, or Takdah valley via 6th mile, or Teesta Bazar - via Takling to Teesta valley.

These routes take an additional 2.5 - 4 hours journey time. Sources of the Border Roads Organisation, which maintains the highway, said they were trying their best to open at least one-way traffic on the stretch by the evening of 16th July.

IANS, Siliguri, July 15 : With a landslide badly disrupting traffic, National Highway 31-A connecting Gangtok with Siliguri in West Bengal and considered Sikkim’s “lifeline” will be closed for a day from Wednesday for repairs. 

With a major chunk of the highway caving in near Kalimpong in Darjeeling district and threatening to cut off Sikkim from the rest of the country, the administration has roped in the services of General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF). 

According to the district administration, the highway will be closed for 24 hours from 6 a.m. Wednesday to enable the GREF to construct a Bailey bridge on the landslide-affected area for the traffic to resume. 

Both the Sikkim and Darjeeling administration have warned tourists and drivers against using the highway to avert any tragedy.