The direct connectivity between Sikkim and the rest of the country was restored with the resumption of traffic on a 30km stretch of NH10 on Thursday evening after five days.
On August 3, the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL), which maintains the highway, had closed the traffic for repairs on the 30km stretch between the Coronation Bridge at Sevoke and Chitrey in Kalimpong district.
Landslides and cave-ins had necessitated the repairs.
Initially, the closure had been announced till August 6 evening, but it was extended for two more days till Friday.
Finally, vehicles were allowed to move through the 30km stretch on Thursday evening, much to the relief of daily commuters and tourists who had to take detours.
However, on Friday morning, traffic again came to a halt after a fresh landslide occurred in Likhubheer and boulders started descending onto the highway.
The NHIDCL engaged earthmovers, and the debris was cleared soon, followed by the resumption of traffic.
“After opening NH10 by carrying out necessary maintenance at Swetjhora, our major objective is to keep the highway open for traffic without any interruption. Today, a slide occurred in Likhubheer, but that did not disrupt the traffic for much time,” said a source in NHIDCL.
Sikkim landslide
A landslide occurred at Chunbhatti near Tatopan in Sikkim on Friday, disrupting traffic between Legship (in west Sikkim) and Jorethang (in south Sikkim). Workers and equipment were engaged to clear the road.
Weather experts said there was a forecast of heavy to very heavy rainfall in many parts of Sikkim and north Bengal in the next couple of days.
“An alert for heavy showers has been issued for Gangtok, Pakyong, Soreng, and Mangan districts of Sikkim till August 11. There is a similar forecast for Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduar districts,” said an official of the India Meteorological Department.
IMD sources said it had rained 143mm in Siliguri and 80mm in Kalimpong in the past 24 hours till 8.30am on Friday.
“The trend is likely to continue for the next couple of days,” the official added.
