Movement of all vehicles on NH10, the principal highway linking Sikkim and Kalimpong district with Siliguri and the plains, will be closed for four days starting from Monday.
The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), which maintains the highway, has issued an order restricting vehicular movement for safety reasons following the collapse of a section of the highway on Friday.
“Due to safety considerations on account of the collapse of a bench at the 29th Mile area of NH10, traffic movement for all classes of vehicles shall be fully closed on NH-10 from 13.10.2025 (13:00 hours) to 16.10.2025 (18:00 hrs) until further orders,” the NHIDCL order dated October 11 stated.
Previously, the NHIDCL had only restricted the movement of heavy vehicles until Tuesday.
According to a source, heavy rainfall and multiple landslides across Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts since October 5 have damaged several parts of the
highway.
A similar situation occurred in August this year, when incessant rain forced NHIDCL to close the road to traffic on five separate occasions.
The latest disruption has severely affected tourism and trade in the region, particularly as the festive season approaches.
Traders at Siliguri’s Bidhan Market, the city’s largest retail hub, said the frequent closures of NH10 and recurring landslides have hit businesses hard.
“Nearly 70 per cent of Bidhan Market’s business depends on the hills, with daily transactions of around ₹6 crore across more than 4,000 shops dealing in garments, household goods, electronics and groceries,” said Bapi Saha, secretary of Bidhan Market Byabsayi Samity. “The closure of NH10 will only worsen our situation.”
The impact has also been felt at Siliguri Regulated Market, which supplies fruits and vegetables to hill towns.
“The recent floods and disruptions in connectivity have affected our business severely,” said Shiv Kumar, secretary of the market’s Fruits and Vegetable Commission Agents’ Association.
Tour operators said disruptions on the key highway at the onset of the tourist season already led to cancellations.