GANGTOK, Sept 5: Closed since 25 August following a major landslide at Hattisurey in Kalimpong sub-division, the National Highway 31A reopened today. "We employed 20 workers and three excavators to clear the road of debris. The process to reopen the road got delayed owing to heavy downpour over the past few days," said a senior Government Reserve Engineering Force official. "This is the first time that more than a week has been taken to clear a road in the region. The NHPC officials also helped us to restore the road," the official, added.NH-31A, the only road that links Sikkim to West Bengal, is the lifeline of Sikkim and Kalimpong. The closure of the road had resulted in shortage of essential commodities in the state. Prices of vegetable and other essential items had skyrocketed in the region following the closure of the highway. The lorries had to ply through the Mall Bazaar, Algaraha, Lava and Reshi to reach Siliguri from Gangtok in three days. The GREF workers battled for 11 days to reopen the important road. On Sunday, the road was opened to traffic for nearly half-an-hour. The GREF team had to carry out controlled explosions to break heavy boulders in a bid to clear the road.
