Residents of Tindharia and Gayabari have demanded that the maintenance of NH55 be handed over to the army

Siliguri, Oct. 18: Residents of Tindharia and Gayabari have demanded that the maintenance of NH55 be handed over to the army.

The appeal has come less than three weeks after the people of Darjeeling demanded the handover of the highway to the Border Roads Organisation of the army that maintains Sikkim’s only road link to the rest of the country.

The highway connects Tindharia and Gayabari to Siliguri on one side and Kurseong on the other. But road link to Kurseong was snapped last year after a landslide at 14th Mile near Paglajhora affected a 500metre-stretch on NH55. On September 28, a 150-metre stretch had caved in near Tindharia cutting off the two small towns from Siliguri as well.

Tindharia and Gayabari are 30km from Siliguri.

“We are not happy with the work done by the PWD. They have been restoring the affected area at 14th Mile for more than a year now but every time there is heavy rain, the road collapses. This shows that the quality of work is not good. Even the task to restore the recent cave-in has been entrusted to them but we feel the PWD is not capable of completing it any time soon,” said Binay Chettri, who is heading the group demanding that the army take up the work.

“We want the BRO to take up the work for permanent and speedy repair,” he said.

The NH division IX of the PWD is restoring the highway that connects Siliguri to Darjeeling via Kurseong.

The demand to hand over the road was raised by the people of Darjeeling earlier this month after the BRO restored Lebong Cart Road within 24 hours of a landslide. A portion of Lebong Road that connects Darjeeling to Tukvar, Singla, Lebong and Jorethang had collapsed on September 26.

With NH55 shut, heavy vehicles bound for Darjeeling and Siliguri are now plying on Rohini, Pankhabari, Mungpoo and Mirik routes and Kurseong-bound traffic is using a route via Gayabari and Giddapahar. “But the road has a very steep gradient. It is narrow and not in pliable condition,” said Chettri.

The PWD had allowed light vehicles on NH55 from April after the stretch near 14th Mile was partially repaired. But it had to be shut completely following a fresh slide in June.

Officials of the PWD said a team had inspected both the affected zones today. “We have started a meeting to decide on the work to be undertaken for restoration of the highway,” said Nirmal Mondal, the executive engineer, NH division IX.

He, however, refused comment on the demand to hand over the road to the army.

TT