Kalimpong, Nov. 30: The Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council has decided to invite private parties to take up the repair of Rohini Road that connects Siliguri to Kurseong.
Anil Verma, the DGHC administrator, told The Telegraph that an advertisement inviting those interested in the BOT (build, operate and transfer) model would be released in the next couple of days.
He added that if the process did not work out, the DGHC would repair the road by this year.
“We will carry out the repair either on the BOT model or on our own latest by December-end,” Verma said.
He said the idea behind the model was to hand over the repair, maintenance and operation of the road to a private party on a long-term basis. During the period of time agreed upon, the firm will generate revenue by charging toll tax from every vehicle plying on the route.
After the term ends, the road would be handed back to the DGHC.
With NH55, the main road link between Siliguri and Darjeeling, closed for over one-and-a-half year, vehicles bound for Darjeeling and Kurseong are using Rohini Road to reach their destinations. The Siliguri-bound vehicles are being routed through the Pankhabari Road.
The highway was closed after two stretches near Paglajhora and Tindharia were damaged in landslides.
Rohini Road branches out from NH55 near Simulbari tea estate, 15km from Siliguri, and joins the highway a little before Kurseong town.
The 17km stretch that was opened a little over four years back has been reduced to a dirt road now with both heavy and light vehicles using it.
“In June, we had sent a detailed proposal to the Union ministry of road transport and highways to repair the road (NH55) for an estimated cost of about Rs 4.5 crore. But the ministry has failed to respond to it till date. It has neither said yes or no,” said Nirmal Mandal, executive engineer, PWD (NH division IX), that is responsible for the maintenance of the highway.
He added that once NH55 was restored, many vehicles, especially the heavy ones, would stop using Rohini Road.
The stretch is not meant to carry heavy load.
Now that Rohini Road is in a bad state, many vehicles sneak through the Pakhabari Road that is meant for the down-bound vehicles plying towards Siliguri.
Those who travel on Rohini Road said the condition of the stretch was so bad that people often fell sick because of the bumpy ride.
“I felt ill while going up from Siliguri on a shared taxi a couple of months back,” said Changba Tamang, a resident of Dow Hill in Kurseong who suffers from heart ailment.
The taxi drivers operating on the route also said it was difficult for them to drive on the road on a regular basis.
“Imagine, we have to go through the ordeal every day. Our vehicles also take a heavy pounding (because of the bad road),” said Ganesh Chhetri, a taxi driver.
-TT
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