The repair work has been continuing on a war footing as the road is deemed to be the lifeline for the Hills. It has also been learnt that the Union surface transport minister will visit the landslide-affected site soon in a bid to find a permanent solution to the problem.
Announcing this, the Kurseong SDO, Mr Suden Tshering Bhutia, said that the repair work is almost complete. “The road will be reopened for the traffic hopefully on 25 September,” he said.
Mr Bhutia said that the repair work had been going on on a war footing, keeping in view the upcoming festive season. “The workers have agreed to work at night too if it is required to speed up the work. The tourists will have a hassle-free tour in the Hills during the festive season,” he assured.
Importantly, he informed that the Union surface transport minister will visit the Darjeeling Hills before the Puja to find a permanent solution to the landslide and road disruption problem that keep plaguing the Hills at regular intervals.
Notably, the NH-55 has remained closed to traffic since 16 June 2010 after a large part of the road caved in at 14 Mile near Ghayabari, due to the frequent landslides that had occurred last year during the monsoon.
This year too, landslides have occurred along the particular stretch. The repair work was disrupted several times due to the problem. Finally from 29 August the restoration work started in full swing. Now it is being expected that the road will be restored by 25 September.
-statesman news service
Post a Comment
We love to hear from you! What's on your mind?