GANGTOK, July 26: A massive landslide at 20 Mile, Bardang near Singtam at about 9 a.m. held up traffic movement for over four hours on National Highway 31A, the lifeline to Sikkim, today.About 500 vehicles were stranded on either side of the slide till the GREF cleared the highway of debris and reopened it to traffic again. "The massive slide narrowly missed a lorry and a sports utility vehicle, which were crossing the spot at that moment, said Mr AK Yadav a GREF official. "Both vehicles got stuck in the slush and debris," he added. The disruption created a major panic and chaos among passengers who were traveling to and from Sikkim. "The landslide delayed me by four hours," said Mr Dipak Chettri a clerk from Tashiling Secretariat in Gangtok. He also said that the situation was panicky as the area is vulnerable to landslides. "Caught at the spot, we were fearing more slides as the rain continued unabated," he said summing up the general feeling. "A large police contingent has been pressed into service and the personnel are handling traffic movement at the slide site at Bardang," the DIG Range Mr Akshay Sachdeva, said. It took the GREF people four hours to clear the highway of debris and reopen the facility to traffic again. "Manual labour and an earth excavator were used to clear the road and extricate the two vehicles which were slugging in the debris," GREF official, said.
