A fresh landslide at Kalimpong’s 18th Mile, also known as Selfiedara, occurred on NH10 on Thursday.

The landslide, which occurred between Sevoke and Chitrey, has led to questions on whether the 30km stretch of the highway could at all be opened for vehicular traffic on Independence Day evening. NH10 is the principal road that connects Sikkim and Kalimpong with Siliguri and the rest of the country.

On August 12, the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), which maintains the highway, had announced a complete halt in traffic till Friday evening along the 30km stretch.

The decision was made because of landslides and cave-ins at multiple locations like 27th Mile and Swetijhora amid the downpour across north Bengal during the past few days.

The Selfiedara landslide occurred on Thursday morning, prompting the NHIDCL to engage equipment and workers to clear the debris.

“The NHIDCL is working onsite to remove the debris. Workers have been engaged in some other affected sites (on the stretch) to ensure that the road is opened for traffic by Friday evening,” said a source in the Kalimpong district administration.

Till Wednesday evening, the rain-fed Teesta had swollen in its upper catchments in Sikkim and flooded a stretch of SH12 that connects Kalimpong with Darjeeling via Teesta Bazar and Rabijhora.

On Thursday, as the water receded, traffic resumed between the hill towns.

“However, direct connectivity to Siliguri from Kalimpong and Sikkim along NH10 is still not there. Vehicles are taking detours to reach Siliguri and vice-versa,” said a transporter.

Frequent landslides on the NH10 have made tourism stakeholders worried. “Next week, we will meet NHIDCL officials and seek concrete steps to avoid such frequent traffic disruptions on NH10,” said Samrat Sanyal, the general secretary of the Himalayan Hospitality and Tourism Development Network.

Mayor meets family

Siliguri mayor Gautam Deb on Thursday went to Paghalupara on the outskirts of the city to meet the bereaved parents of two children who died when a wall fell on them during the downpour on Tuesday. He condoled the deaths and assured the parents of all help possible.