Kalimpong, May 2: The repair of NH31A during monsoon is expected to be completed expeditiously this year with the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) relocating 87 Road Construction Company (RCC) from Kalimpong to Melli, located on Bengal’s border with Sikkim. The BRO is raising another RCC also to lessen the burden on the 87 RCC.

The 87 RCC, which was earlier attached to the Thimpu-headquartered Project Dantak, is now part of 764 Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) based here. The force, which is under Gangtok-headquartered Project Swastik, was earlier engaged in Afghanistan.

From now on, maintenance of the NH31A’s Sevoke-Ranipool section in Sikkim will be the main task of the 87 RCC. Earlier, the company had been assigned the repair of many other roads in the Darjeeling hills and Sikkim.

A major responsibility the 87 RCC had in the past, Damdim-Algarah-Rishi road, the alternative to the road between Siliguri and Kalimpong, will be looked after by 130 RCC being set up at Rangli in Sikkim under the 764 BRTF.

Kalimpong is 16km from NH31A, while Melli is along the national highway.

A number of factors are believed to have contributed to the upgrade of the BRO operations in the region. They are prolonged disruptions on roads, especially on NH31A, caused by rains last year and a large number of road projects in the pipeline in Sikkim.

Welcoming the BRO move, T.D. Bhutia, the president of the Janmukti Morcha Chalak Mahasangh, hoped that uninterrupted traffic on the highway would be ensured during monsoon. As rains affect vehicular movement, the prices of essential commodities shoot up.

“We were even forced to buy petroleum products at a premium after tankers got stuck on roads for days following landslides,” said Navin Poudyal, a resident. The BRO officials hope that maintenance of the highway will be much better with the 87 RCC’s shift to Melli.

Despite being overburdened, the 87 RCC has managed to repair all roads, it had been tasked to restore during last year’s rains, well before monsoon. The officials said the company had also completed road resurfacing work between Sevoke and Lohapool.