Shillong, May 16:Fifty-five tourists from West Bengal missed the train back to Kolkata last week following the landslide in the Pynursla sector of the Shillong -Dawki road.
An official source said they were stranded on May 14.
After a distress message was sent by one of the visitors, the administration reached out to them.
20 women and 6 children were part of the 55-member team from West Bengal.
The landslide was cleared around 8 am on May 15. Though the visitors tried to rush to Guwahati, they missed the Saraighat Express train scheduled at 12:40 pm by 5 minutes.
“We missed the train by 5 minutes. As there is no refund option, we had to board a bus to Jalpaiguri”, one of the tourists said on the phone.
When contacted, an official from Pynursla said they decided to stay in the bus at night on May 14, though the officials suggested to them to return via Sohbar road.
Another option of staying in a guest house was suggested, but they wanted to return as early as possible.
On April 20, two people died near Mawlieh on the Shillong–Pynursla–Dawki road (NH-206) due to rockslide.
Though the road was cleared briefly on the morning of May 15, the administration imposed restrictions on travel from May 17 to 20 due to the construction activities.
In a public notice issued on May 15, G. Warjri, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Pynursla Civil Sub-Division, said, “The affected stretch from Laitlyngkot-Lyngkyrdem of the Shillong-Dawki road will remain closed for 3 (three) days for all vehicular movement with effect from 7:00 am of 17th May to 7 am of 20 th May, 2026”.
According to the official, the closure has been necessitated for the people’s safety, construction, movement of heavy machineries, excavation and related activities.
“Therefore, all commuters are requested to cooperate and make alternative routes through Pynursla-Dawki-Amlarem and Pynursla-Nongjri-Sohra road and (or) plan their journey accordingly”, the official added.
