NH 40 becomes landslide prone

Shillong, September 28, 2014: The Shillong-Guwahati highway witnessed several landslides last week. A drive on the highway that connects Shillong to the rest of the country revealed that the once unheard of landslides had now become a trend on this route.

Mudslides took place in several areas of the road from Umiam till before Byrnihat in the last few of days when the state received heavy rainfall.

Observers feel that unscientific cutting of hills to pave way for the four-lane project had led to this undesirable development.

One such landslide was reported recently when mud abd boulders from a hill tumbled down on the road in Shangbangla near Nongpoh. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident since it occurred at night when fewer vehicles ply on the road. However, the landslide disrupted traffic movement along the road and it was only in the evening that the debris was finally cleared.

Meanwhile, the road condition in many of the stretches has gone bad to worse and calls for immediate repairing.

The 62-km four-laning of NH 40 (Umiam to Jorabat) has been taken up by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) as the implementing agency with an estimated budget of Rs 536 crore.

Source: The Shillong Times