GANGTOK, 17 June: Traffic along NH-31A came to a halt for more than 12 hours starting last night when vehicles on either side of the highway were stranded near Rambi on the West Bengal side after a jhora there broke its banks and brought down water, slush and debris. This is the first NH 31A disruption this monsoon.
The Janmukti Chalak Mahasangh president, Milan Pradhan, informs that heavy rains along the highway on the West Bengal side last night triggered a flash flood in the jhora which flows down from the lower reaches of Darjeeling at 27th Mile, near the NHPC dam site, where it meets the Teesta.
“We don’t exactly know when the jhora started flowing in such velocity but according to many drivers who were stuck here throughout the night, the water started gushing on the road bringing down huge boulders and slush after midnight which is also when the drivers did not risk moving through the torrential river that the jhora had transformed into,” informed Mr. Pradhan.
Incidentally, this jhora is not a traditional trouble-spot on NH 31A and its furious avatar has caught everyone by surprise. Earlier during the night, many small vehicles made it through the slush, but the sudden flood of huge boulders and slush restricted them to wait till 1 p.m. today when BRO personnel managed to clear the debris and open traffic for smaller vehicles.
Still, at the spot, only one-way traffic is allowed and light vehicles are being allowed to pass “at their own risk”, the truckers and other heavy vehicles however are stuck on either side making a long line of stalled traffic.
The reopening of the highway at 1pm was a relief for many who had either returned to Siliguri or had waited along NH-31A for the road to be cleared the entire night. The continuous rains could still pose a problem at the spot since the jhora is still informed to be unstable, bringing in loads of debris at regular intervals which requires the BRO personnel to get into action with the two excavators and one bull dozer stationed at the spot.
The Janmukti Chalak Mahasangh president, Milan Pradhan, informs that heavy rains along the highway on the West Bengal side last night triggered a flash flood in the jhora which flows down from the lower reaches of Darjeeling at 27th Mile, near the NHPC dam site, where it meets the Teesta.
“We don’t exactly know when the jhora started flowing in such velocity but according to many drivers who were stuck here throughout the night, the water started gushing on the road bringing down huge boulders and slush after midnight which is also when the drivers did not risk moving through the torrential river that the jhora had transformed into,” informed Mr. Pradhan.
Incidentally, this jhora is not a traditional trouble-spot on NH 31A and its furious avatar has caught everyone by surprise. Earlier during the night, many small vehicles made it through the slush, but the sudden flood of huge boulders and slush restricted them to wait till 1 p.m. today when BRO personnel managed to clear the debris and open traffic for smaller vehicles.
Still, at the spot, only one-way traffic is allowed and light vehicles are being allowed to pass “at their own risk”, the truckers and other heavy vehicles however are stuck on either side making a long line of stalled traffic.
The reopening of the highway at 1pm was a relief for many who had either returned to Siliguri or had waited along NH-31A for the road to be cleared the entire night. The continuous rains could still pose a problem at the spot since the jhora is still informed to be unstable, bringing in loads of debris at regular intervals which requires the BRO personnel to get into action with the two excavators and one bull dozer stationed at the spot.
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