The project management consultant (PMC) engaged by the Union ministry of road transport and highways has drawn up possible solutions to traffic disruptions triggered by frequent landslides on NH10 that connects Sikkim and Kalimpong district with Siliguri and the rest of the country.

Darjeeling MP Raju Bista held a meeting on Thursday with representatives of the PMC and the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), which maintains the highway.

“Today, I met the experts and officials who are visiting our region to conduct a detailed survey of NH10 and determine the best way to address the problems. They will also be visiting NH717A and taking stock of the ongoing constructions and the issues that have emerged,” Bista said.

This year, connectivity along the 30km-long stretch on NH10 between Sevoke and Chitray in Kalimpong snapped several times because of landslides.

As a result, vehicles bound for Sikkim and Kalimpong from Siliguri and vice versa had to take detours, covering additional distances.

Also, NH717A, the alternative road to Kalimpong and Sikkim via the Dooars, suffered damage on some stretches.

Such a situation had made Bista meet Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari on August 20 in Delhi. He urged the minister to take effective steps for a permanent solution to the traffic problems on NH10 and NH717A.

“Today, representatives of the PMC presented their version of the short-term and long-term solutions. The short-term solutions included erosion control measures, stabilisation of landslide-prone areas, construction of viaducts (elevated stretch of the highway), expansion of NH10 in some portions and tunnelling at some locations,” said the MP.

“In the long run, the PMC suggested multiple measures, including a new alignment of NH10, including construction of tunnels to overcome the landslide problems,” he added.

At the meeting on Thursday, the MP said prolonged road closures and traffic disruptions that the people faced this year should be curbed in the next monsoon season. “We have asked the NHIDCL officials to take proactive steps to avoid any repeat of such a situation,” he said.

MP seeks CBI probe

Raju Bista has demanded a CBI investigation into the abduction of the 14-year-old boy who is from 10th Mile, a forest village near Sevoke on the outskirts of Siliguri.

Bista, who met the family members of Ishan Gurung, the boy, on Thursday, mentioned that on August 23, he had been abducted from NH10 by unknown men.

“The state police have formed a special investigation team to find him. However, 13 days have passed since the abduction, and yet, the boy remains untraced. In such a situation, I have reached out to the governor and the chief minister, seeking their intervention,” said Bista.

“Now that the state police haven’t located the boy, I want the state to transfer the case to the CBI to trace him,” he added.