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Kalimpong, Oct. 13: The permanent restoration work on the damaged 50-m stretch of NH 31A at 27th Mile will be taken up by the end of November and is expected to be completed by April next year.

This was decided at a meeting chaired by urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya at the National Hydel Power Corporation (NHPC) office at 27 Mile, around 25 km from here, today. “All parties concerned will again come together in January to review the progress of the work,” Bhattacharya told The Telegraph after the meeting.

The meeting, called by the additional district magistrate of Darjeeling, S. Bhattacharya, was also attended by representatives of the Sikkim government and NHPC and Border Roads Organisation (BRO). The BRO maintains the road. The district magistrate had asked Bhattacharya to convene the meeting.

Over the past couple of months, traffic on the road has been frequently disrupted with around 50 metres of the highway, linking Sikkim and Kalimpong with Siliguri, being washed away in early August, following a landslide triggered allegedly by a NHPC construction. It was part of the power major’s low dam project on the Teesta riverbed near Rambi. Officials of the NHPC and the BRO will jointly carry out a survey of the site on October 22 to prepare an estimate.

While the funds will be provided by the power corporation, the BRO will be in charge of the construction. The NHPC has also agreed to build a retaining wall by the river to prevent further landslip in the area, besides taking steps to prevent the hill above the road from caving in.

Bhattacharya said the district administration would facilitate acquisition of land if more forest areas are needed for the road. “Since the area has been giving way very often, we may need to cut into the hills to straighten the road and enhance the visibility for drivers,” said a BRO official.