Landslide on NH-55 damages The Tindharia workshop of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railways

DARJEELING: A landslide at Tindharia on NH-55 , about 56 km from Darjeeling, damaged a major portion of the road on Wednesday afternoon . The Tindharia workshop of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railways developed cracks.

Highway engineers said if it continues to rain, more harm could be done there. "This is a massive landslide measuring more than 150 feet deep and it will take a lot of time for the repair work to be done. With more rainfall expected, we fear more damage," said the NH-55 Division 2 executive engineer Nirmal Mondel who had come for spot verification.

Apart from damage done to a huge stretch of the road, people from about 5 to 7 houses were vacated from the area. Some cracks have developed on the walls of the Tindharia workshop. The structure could suffer further damage if there are further landslides. Along with the road, the train tracks have also been damaged.

Wednesday's landslide killed all hopes of the NH-55 opening right now. It has remained closed for a year now. The highway, which is the main link of the plains to the hills, has remained closed since last year's Ghayabari landslide. With repairs being near-completion at Gayabari, there were chances of the NH-55 opening soon, but after Wednesday's damage at Tindharia , the chances look slim.

"We are in constant fear about what could take place if more landslides occur in this area. So we are relocating ourselves from this area till something concrete is done," said Bijay Rai, a local resident.

Another local, Bishal Gurung, said: "We were having to walk a great distance to get goods either from Kurseong or from Siliguri and kept hoping that NH-55 would open soon. But today, we lost all hopes."

Currently, the alternative routes for Darjeeling and Kurseong subdivisions are via Pankhabari and Rohini respectively, which are meant only for smaller vehicles.

The Darjeeling Rajya Sabha MP along with the Kurseong SDO and the BDO visited the area on Wednesday. "I have asked the administration to arrange immediate relief for the people who had to vacate their houses. I have also informed the railways about the damage that has been made to the workshop," said Saman Pathak, the Darjeeling Rajya Sabha MP.