Kolkata, Aug. 22. - With the Pujas
drawing near, many travel enthusiasts from the plains are making plans
for a trip to the Queen of hill stations, but they aren`t perhaps
aware that they are gong to miss a very special tourist attraction
- a toy train ride, thanks t the precarious condition of roads.
Mr. Amar Choudhury, state PWD minister,
who went to inspect the Hill Cart Road which was affected by the
landslide in July, said that soon after the road was repaired and
opened to traffic, a major landslide hit Pagla Jhora and Tindhariya
on Hill Card road at July end.
A large portion the rail tracks is still hanging following massive
soil erosion, and restoration of tracks would take quite some time,
the minister said at Writer`s Buildings today. He said the state
government has already decided to narrow the Hill Cart Road from
5.5 - 6 metres to 3.5 - 4 metres.
Landslides have been occurring on the edges and not on the mountain
slopes, hence a part of the road will be barricaded for protection
landslides. At present all vehicles are stopped before Tindharia
and the traffic is diverted through Mangpoo or Mirik Road to Darjeeling.
The minister said Kurseong was the worst hit area. No vehicles,
including the light ones, are allowed to pass through and one has
to travel all the way to Mirik or Mangpoo Road to reach Kurseong.
He said: `I have found that locals continuously dig black
soil, which also contributes to frequent landslides.`
The statesman had earlier reported that a portion of the Hill Cart
Road had become vulnerable to landslides near Kurseong due to incessant
flow of water from the famous Pagla Jhora waterfalls. Mr. Chaudhury,
at that time, sent a proposal to the Union Ministry of road transport
and highways for reconstruction of this stretch with an improved
drainage system.
The estimated cost for construction of drainage would be about
Rs. 1.28 crore.
The ministry of road transport and highways (MORTH) has sanction
Rs. 1 crore for immediate restoration of roads. A part of the road
may be opened to light vehicles after an executive engineer from
MORTH carries out an inspection, the minister said.
Courtesy
The Statesman |
Home | About Us | Contact
Us | Site Map | Feedback
