Army praise over bridge construction in Darjeeling

Darjeeling: The army’s commendable job in putting together a 140-feet bridge over Lebong Cart Road which was devasted by a landslide causing a cave-in. The road connected Lebong and several Darjeeling Tea gardens. Within 24 hours of a landslide, the army has raised the pitch for handing over NH55 to the Border Roads Organisation.

The 113 engineering regiment had started constructing the bridge yesterday morning and by this afternoon district magistrate Saumitra Mohan was able to drive his car across it along with Brigader Ravi Raut, the commanding officer.

The public works department had said earlier that it would take around two to three months to permanently restore Lebong Cart Road that was damaged in a landslide on Monday. Till the PWD completes its job, the bridge will connect Darjeeling to Singamari, Tukvar, Singla, Lebong and Jorethang in Sikkim.

The swiftness with which the army completed the job prompted even the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to demand that NH55 should be handed over to the BRO just like NH31A, which connects Siliguri with Gangtok.

NH55 links Darjeeling to Siliguri.

The BRO looks after the Siliguri-Gangtok stretch and despite numerous landslides along the route, the army always managed to clear debris in a short span of time, the Morcha said.

Trilok Dewan, the Morcha’s MLA from Darjeeling, said: “NH55 is in a mess and it is clear that the National Highways Authority is finding it difficult to maintain the road which is very important for Darjeeling. This road must be handed over to the BRO which is much more efficient.”

National Highway 55 or Hill Cart Road has been closed for most of the time since June 2010 and with a fresh landslide on Thursday near Tindharia, after which a stretch of the road caved in, there is little chance of the road opening this year.

“Alternative routes like Pankhabari, Rohini, Mungpoo or Mirik had not been constructed to handle heavy vehicles and since the national highway is closed, these roads are in a terrible condition because heavy vehicles are forced to ply on these routes,” said Dewan.

The Morcha leader added that he had raised the issue of handing over NH55 to the BRO with Bengal governor M.K. Narayanan during his recent visit to the hill town.

“I have requested him to look into the matter,” said Dewan, who is also a member of the board of administrators of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.

He added that DGHC had also sent a Rs 194 crore proposal to the state to construct an alternative highway to NH55 through Bungkulung in Mirik.

“I had also suggested that the construction and repair of the alternative road should be taken up by the BRO. I hope Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh takes up the matter with the appropriate authorities in Delhi,” said Dewan.

The MLA said he would ask the NH-IX division to attend the DGHC board meeting on October 15.

“We want to know in detail about the state of the highway and how long it would take to restore the patch if they start work immediately,” said Dewan.

Source: The Telegraph

Landslide swept road to be bridged by Army facilitating traffic to Darjeeling Tea Plantations

DARJEELING: The army stepped in on Tuesday to build a metal bridge at the landslide-hit area to help resume traffic movement. Sunday's landslide had devoured a 30-metre stretch of the Lebong Cart Road. Vehicular movement from the main town to the northern parts had to be diverted to the upper stretches where the road is narrow and small.

The 113 Engineer Regiment of the Indian army at Lebong surveyed the landslide site near Sharma Garage just above the Happy Valley tea estate. "Work to build the bridge would begin from Wednesday and we hope to resume vehicular movement within three days," said Brigadier R S Rawat, of the Dogra Regiment. The bridge on completion will be christened 'Mayaloo 113' after the regiment's number.

The PWD will continue with the repair of the road work. "We were already in the process of restoring the road that was damaged prior to the earthquake and the landslide. Now we will concentrate in strengthening the road from the bottom," said a senior PWD official.

The Dogra Regiment is located at Lebong about four kilometers from the landslide area.

The Lebong Cart Road connects the town with Singamari, where Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's (GJM) main office and reputed boarding schools and colleges are located. It also leads to Sikkim via Jorethang. Several Darjeeling Tea plantations are also located beyond the landslide site.

Trilok Dewan, the Darjeeling MLA visited the landslide site with the army and district administration officials. "It is encouraging to see the army at the fore. I request the district administration to ensure that the army is not impeded while they are at work to restore traffic movement," said Dewan.

Bengal Governor M.K.Narayanan arrived in Darjeeling on Tuesday and visited the landslide area in the afternoon. He will be meeting officials of the district administration later in the evening to take stock of the situation in the Hills post the earthquake and landslide.

Source: Times of India

Major landslide cuts off road to some Darjeeling Tea gardens

Darjeeling: Just when the life of people in the Hills was are limping back to normalcy after the 6.8 magnitude earthquake shook the entire eastern India, a massive landslide devoured a 30-metre stretch of Lebong Cart Road late Sunday night, cutting off connectivity with the northern parts of Darjeeling. However, no casualties have been reported in the incident.

Lebong Cart Road connects the town with places like Singamari and some Darjeeling Tea gardens such as Phoobsering, Barnesbeck, Singla, Ging and also the army cantonment at Lebong. All vehicular movement has now been diverted from the Birch Hill Road.

"Incessant rain in the past 24 hours has damaged a vast stretch of Lebong Cart Road. We have diverted all traffic flow to the north side of the town from the upper stretches. It will take about a month to repair the road," said Darjeeling DM Soumitra Mohan.

No property has been damagedin the incident that occurred. However, according to civil defense officials, more rain could prove to be dangerous. "The September 18 earthquake in Sikkim has also affected the Hills. Cracks have appeared on several roads that need to be plastered to avoid water seepage," warned Gopal Rai, a senior government official. Incidentally, the road was already damaged and repair work had started prior to the earthquake and rainfall.

Several schools in the northern half of the town asked students to return home because of persistent rainfall. One school declared Puja holiday before schedule.

"We did not want to take any chance. So we declared the Puja holiday from today itself. The situation is quite precarious in the Hills with the recent earthquake and now this incessant rainfall," said Father Kinley, rector of St Joseph's School at Singamari.

Vacation at the school was supposed to start from Friday.

With the road cut off, the residents of Singamari may face difficulties in getting their drinking water, which is supplied by tankers.

"The Birch Hill Road is too narrow and a one-way lane. Traffic system will be in disarray from now with heavy vehicles, including that of the army and water supply,

plying on this road. Besides, it will be difficult to travel more than 2 km on foot everyday to reach town for work," said Mohan Tamang, a resident of Singamari.

Source: Times of India