Locals fear risk from ongoing Mirik Hospital construction

DARJEELING,: Locals of Krishnagar in Mirik have alleged that the ongoing construction of the Mirik Sub-Divisional Hospital poses a threat to the houses located above the site.

Residents claimed that a landslide occurred in the area on August 13 this year, causing cracks to develop at the back of the hospital premises, endangering the houses uphill.

“Once the district hospital is completed, the people of Mirik will benefit from improved facilities. However, no protective wall has been built behind the hospital, which we feel is negligence on the part of the PWD. We have been demanding that it be constructed at the earliest. Officials keep saying that it has been approved and work will start soon, but nothing has been done so far,” said Sagar Sharma, a resident whose house is located above the site.

According to Sharma, construction of the hospital began three years ago and is now almost complete, but work on the protective wall - crucial for safety - has yet to begin.

“In February this year, we wrote to the PWD department requesting that the protection wall be built. They had carried out reckless excavation on that side using excavators, leaving it unstable and cracked. Instead of addressing the issue, they continued constructing the hospital building and gave us no response,” Sharma alleged.

“During the rainy season, a landslide occurred on August 13. For show, they built a sausage wall and sealed the cracks with cement, assuring us that no further landslides would occur. We have continued to raise our concerns with the administration and even written to the Bengal Chief Minister, but no action has been taken yet,” he added, noting that a turning on the road above the site was also slowly slipping.

“Now, with a red alert issued for this area, we fear that continuous rainfall could endanger the four to five houses above the site, where around 35 people live. The road also leads to a school used by children,” Sharma said, adding that only a tarpaulin currently covers the landslide site, which is inadequate to prevent another disaster.