Gangtok: Continuous landslides along NH-10 have disrupted road construction works near Bardang and the 20th Mile area, located roughly 6 km before the Sikkim–West Bengal border.
After heavy rainfall caused cracks on the vulnerable S-turning near Topakhani, swift repair work was carried out and the road was reopened within a day. Traffic is now flowing freely, but the stretch remains risky. Visible cracks still persist, raising safety concerns among commuters. Authorities have urged drivers to proceed with caution.
Jag Bahadur Biswakarma, a road construction worker engaged in the Bardang area, shared ground-level details of the challenges faced by workers due to the recurring collapse of hillsides.
Referring to Monday’s events, Biswakarma said that landslides intensified again due to overnight rain. “The entire road fell apart on Monday night. It was only by 8 or 9 in the morning that the road could be cleared again. This has happened multiple times before.”
Currently, although some vehicles are moving, the danger hasn’t subsided. “Stones are still falling from above. Even when there’s no rain, they keep coming down. The area between Bardang and 20th Mile is extremely risky,” he said.
According to Biswakarma, the roadwork had started about one to two months ago, but the situation has remained unstable. “This hill keeps collapsing. Sometimes it’s sunny, but even then, the road is difficult. Vehicles speed past when it’s dry, but the moment it rains or the slide shifts again, movement becomes dangerous. The landslide is still falling,” he said.
A major concern has been safety. “Stones are falling from above. They hit vehicles. One car was struck badly. Now even at night, workers sit here till 2 or 3 AM, just trying to keep watch,” he added. According to him, people are forced to rest only in short intervals before returning to check the slide’s condition again.
Despite an excavator being deployed to clear debris, Biswakarma said, “Rocks keep falling from above. This happens even when it isn’t raining. Every night the same scene repeats. The stone has to be cleared just so the road gets cleared.”
He pointed out the urgency of constructing proper retaining structures. “Those who are supposed to build support walls don’t arrive on time. There’s so much stone, it’s being pushed into the river by trucks,” he noted.
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