Talks on to widen NH31 near Siliguri

A congested stretch of Hill Cart Road in Siliguri. Picture by Passang Yolmo 

TT, 10 Oct 2018, Siliguri: Senior officials of the Bengal public works department have held talks with officials of the Union surface transport ministry to work on the proposal of widening a stretch of NH 31 on the northern end of Siliguri to facilitate smooth traffic.

State tourism minister Gautam Deb, who was live in social media a few days back, shared the information with residents who raised the question of traffic congestion in and around Siliguri.

"We are aware that the Asian Highway is almost ready and the stretch of NH31 between Balason to Salugara via Darjeeling More would get become congested due to rise in traffic. A proposal has been mooted to widen it to a six-lane road to help in smooth movement of traffic. Our officers are talking to the central authorities concerned and we hope, the project would be implemented in due course," said Deb.

According to the minister, once widened, the road would have separate lanes connecting NH55 that originates from Darjeeling More (one of the principal entry points to Siliguri) and heads for the hills.

"There will be other lanes and approaches which would connect Champasari More (located beyond Darjeeling More on NH 31) and Hill Cart Road," he added.

Following the construction of AH2 that connects northern and southern ends of the town, residents of Siliguri had been demanding that NH31 stretch be widened.

Speaking on the issue of traffic congestion that had been a regular botheration for the residents, Deb said they were making plans to decongest Hill Cart Road and Sevoke Road, two prominent thoroughfares of the town.

"Work to widen Burdwan Road that connects southern end of Siliguri has already started. We have plans to reduce the traffic load on Hill Cart Road by altering the terminal point of some of the buses which ply to far-flung destinations. We would then engage a group of experts to conduct a study and come up with recommendations which can help in decongesting the road. There are also some plans for Sevoke Road so that vehicles can ply easily," said the minister.