NH10 shut down as heavy rains hit north Bengal triggering fresh landslides
The India Meteorological Department has warned of heavy to very heavy rains in some areas in the hills of north Bengal and Sikkim over the next five days
The National Highway 10 (NH10), which forms the lifeline of Kalimpong district in north Bengal and the neighboring Himalayan state Sikkim, had to be shut down on Saturday after heavy overnight rains triggered fresh landslides in the hills.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned of heavy to very heavy rains in some areas in the hills of north Bengal and Sikkim over the next five days. Kalimping received around 82 mm rain between Friday morning and Saturday morning.
“The NH10 remained closed from early Saturday morning. We are trying to restore traffic movement at the earliest,” said Srihari Pandey, superintendent of police (SP) of Kalimpong district.
Fresh landslides were reported from multiple points between 29th Mile and Likhuvir.
“While landslides are damaging the roads from the top, the River Teesta is eating away the land below, making it more challenging to repair the damaged highway in some portions. NH10 was badly hit by the flash flood, which took place in October 2023 in Sikkim. Several landslides were reported earlier this month too when the area was battered by heavy rains,” said a senior official of Kalimpong.
Landslides triggered by heavy rains in the second week of June in Sikkim had killed nine local villagers. Around 1,400 tourists were stranded in north Sikkim who were rescued later.
Even today, large parts of north Sikkim virtually remained cut off as the roads were damaged and bridges washed away in the landslides earlier this month.
“We are reaching out to the affected villagers by transshipment and the Army is working to construct Bailey bridges and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has engaged more than 200 personnel to reach out to the villages with essential commodities. The state government is trying its best to open the road communication at the earliest,” said Nar Bahadur Dahal, road and bridges minister in Sikkim.
Though the road between Gangtok, Sikkim’s capital, and Mangan, the district headquarters in north Sikkim, was open for light vehicles, the road between Mangan and Chungthang via Toong Nagar route was blocked. The road between Mangan and Chungthang via Sankalang was also blocked as the newly constructed bridge at Sankalang was damaged by the River Teesta earlier this month. Several other roads were blocked.