Heavy rain damages temporary Balason bridge, cutting Siliguri–Mirik link

Heavy rainfall on Friday damaged a temporary hume pipe bridge over the swollen Balason river in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district, disrupting vehicular movement between Siliguri and Mirik, officials said.

The structure at Dudhia, built as an interim arrangement after the collapse of the iron bridge in October 2025, partially gave way following a sudden rise in water levels triggered by incessant rain.

“A portion of the temporary hume pipe bridge at Dudhia collapsed after a sudden rise in water level of the river due to incessant rain,” an official said, adding that traffic has since been diverted via Pankhabari and Kurseong.

The disruption is expected to impact daily commuting and the transport of essential goods in the region until restoration work is completed.

Darjeeling MP Raju Bista visited the site and blamed the state government for repeated infrastructure failures.

“The TMC government had not been able to construct a permanent structure after the iron bridge collapse. The temporary bridge was poorly constructed and was bound to face such problems during heavy rain,” Bista told reporters.

He also suggested a Bailey bridge with assistance from the Border Roads Organisation or the Army as a stronger interim solution, while noting that work on a permanent bridge is underway.

“A detailed project report for a dam has already been prepared and sent to Jadavpur University for technical review. Once the monsoon season is over, work on the dam will begin. That is the only long-term solution to this problem,” he said.

Officials said the state government has already sanctioned over ₹51 crore for a two-lane permanent bridge over the Balason, with construction in progress.

The Central Water Commission, in its flood forecast, warned that the area remains vulnerable, noting that “due to high river flow and ongoing erosion, the newly under-construction bridge at the same site is also under threat.”

With PTI inputs