14 Mile Landslides at Kurseong

Excerpt from The Telegraph of 03Aug2010

A meeting convened by the Darjeeling district magistrate today resolved to intensify efforts to restore NH55 that was damaged by a landslide on a stretch of 500 metres on June 16.

Around 500 metres of the highway had caved in after a landslide at 14th Mile near Paglajhora, 35km from here, on June 16.

“We have discussed the matter with the departments which were affected by the damage of the highway. Their suggestions will be sent to the appropriate authorities for necessary steps,” Surendra Gupta, the district magistrate of Darjeeling, said after the meeting at Siliguri circuit house this morning.

However, PWD officials said after the meeting that possibilities of immediate restoration of the road link between Siliguri and Darjeeling through NH55 were bleak because of the vulnerability of the damaged stretch.

“The impact of the landslide on the highway was massive as about 500 metres of the road were completely washed away. We had tried to start the repair at the spot soon. But continuous slides caused by the rains disrupted the work,” said Nirmal Mondal, the executive engineer of the NH division of the PWD.

“As the monsoon will stay in the region till September 15, we have decided to wait till then to start the work again,” he added.

Photos and captions by Bhushan Chettri, Member STH of Kurseong

Praful Rao