Landslide snaps Siliguri-Gangtok road, vehicles stranded

Landslides near Rambhi, in the outskirts of Siliguri on way to the hills have disrupted the road traffic between Gangtok and the North Bengal hub.
An official of Border Road Organisation (BRO), which maintains roads in the hilly terrain of Sikkim and Darjeeling district of West Bengal, said the rain-triggered landslides at Swati Jhora spot near the hill village blocked the arterial NH 10 on June 25.
BRO personnel managed to open one side of the road for passage of small cars yesterday morning but boulders fell on that stretch soon after totally blocking the road again, the BRO official said.

The calamities caused a major traffic snarl-up as passenger and tourist vehicles lined up on both ends.
The vehicular traffic movement to Darjeeling town, however, remained unaffected as the Siliguri-Darjeeling route falls through a different stretch.
Kalimpong, being on the same route to Sikkim upto certain distance, was also cut off from the plains.