KALIMPONG/ SILIGURI: A fresh landslide in Birik Dara occurred on the National Highway-10 around 8.30am on Tuesday, throwing traffic movement out of gear for some hours. The vehicles travelling towards Siliguri were diverted via Lava. However, another landslide snapped road connectivity near Gelle Khola around 1.30pm on Tuesday. There was major traffic congestion on the highway till 3pm as the vehicles came to a halt there.
Tourists travelling to Sikkim from Guwahati were stranded for hours.
"We are stuck here for about two hours. This is a national highway and the authorities concerned should have better equipment to remove the rubbles at the earliest," said a tourist from Guwahati, who did not wish to be named.
Kalimpong recorded a rainfall of 62.6 mm in the last 24 hours while Darjeeling had 54.8 mm of rain. Meanwhile, SP of Kalimpong, Aparajita Rai said, "One-way traffic is on. The diversion routes may be Lava-Gorubathan and Teesta-Peshok." Three earth removers cleared the debris in five hours.
Executive engineer, NH 10, Subodh Chettri said, "The landslide has not claimed any live. If the rain continues, there are chances of landslides again along the stretch".
