Landslide triggers cave-in on NH-10, traffic disrupted between Sikkim, Benga

YOWAN MOTHAY, EOI, KALIMPONG, SEPT 24, 2023 : Heavy rain in the hills of West Bengal and Sikkim triggered a landslide that caused a cave-in on the National Highway 10 in Darjeeling district on Sunday, disrupting vehicular movement on the key arterial link between the two states, officials said.

Following heavy rain, a massive amount of rocks and slush rolled down the hill and damaged the highway at Sethi Jhora in Bengal, around 30 km from Siliguri, they said.

The road is completely closed for repairs, and the restoration will take a few days, one of the officials said. Vehicles from the Himalayan state and West Bengal are taking a detour to reach their destinations. Heavy vehicle movement will be allowed only between 7 pm to 6 am and will be open via Kalimpong district in Bengal, another official said. 

The area witnessed landslides and blocking of the highway several times this monsoon.

Hundreds of vehicles remained stranded after the road was blocked in Sethi Jhora. Some of the vehicles are reported to have vegetables and fruits which are now in a rotten state. Many small passenger vehicles are going from Birik Danra via Lanku to Silguri via Latpanchar and Kalijhora.

Although the condition of the road on that route is good, local people say that they are unable to drive due to a huge landslide in Karmath Ban Basti. Due to continuous rain, the situation on that route has become more critical.

According to Sevok police station in-charge Tapan Kumar Das some vehicles bound for Sikkim are passing through Kalijhora Dam, Panbu, twenty-seven miles and vehicles from Kalimpong are leaving Relli river via Panbu. (With inputs from PTI)