SIKKIM BHUTAN ROUTE STUDY TRIP

Sikkim-Bhutan route study trip in Sept
90 km route to start from Rongli, route through Bhutan and end at Chalsa in WB


GANGTOK, August 28: Officials from Centre and Sikkim governments are slated to undertake a recee of a potential alternative highway for the State through its Himalayan neighbour of Bhutan this September.

Chief Minister Pawan Chamling had earlier made a proposal for the trans-nation alternative highway to Union Ministry of Transport to ease out the landlocked State from its sole dependability on the its lifeline NH 31 A.

The proposal was an alternative highway either through Nepal or Bhutan for Sikkim bypassing the politically and naturally troublesome areas of Darjeeling hills.

Out of this, the Bhutan alignment was found feasible by the Union Ministry through Eastern Sikkim.

The frequent blockades of NH 31 A had prompted Sikkim to propose to the Centre for an alternative highway route from Bhutan.

NH 31 A, a tenuous 5-meter wide highway is the only connectivity link of Sikkim with the rest of the country. The highway often remains closed to traffic either due to bandhs called by protestors of various groups or landslides. The most recent instance was the blockade imposed by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) in July.

With no railhead or airport, the state’s infrastructure is heavily hemmed in by the 41-km NH 31A from Siliguri to Gangtok. Sikkim shares a sensitive international border with China, making connectivity a critical concern.

Now, the Union Ministry has outlined the preliminary plans and a tour of the potential route for Sikkim via Bhutan is set on the first week of Bhutan.

According to reports, the State government has confirmed that various alternative routes were being studied and the West Bengal Government’s concurrence was also being sought to ensure that the state’s essential supplies are not affected by protests or landslides.

The proposal tentatively places the length of the new route from Gangtok to Chalsa in West Bengal, via Bhutan, is expected to be around 90 km.
Of this around 40 km will fall in Bhutan.

State Roads Secretary Govind Prasad Sharma who is presently in New Delhi has been quoted by national media as: “The idea is to create an alternative route starting from Sikkim’s eastern part near Rongli into Bhutan’s Pangola range-that separates Sikkim from Bhutan-and on to Phuentsholing before it re-enters Indian territory at Chalsa in the Dooars region. An aerial survey will be conducted for the route from the first week of September. Soon after, the route feasibility will be studied on foot which is likely to take a month”.

Mr. Sharma said the proposal was put before Union Transport Secretary Brahm Dutt when he visited the state last month.

“The Secretary appreciated our view that the only solution to Sikkim’s accessibility problems lies in an alternative route. He suggested that we go ahead with a feasibility after which the ministry would approach the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to further take up the issue with Bhutan,” added Sharma.

The state had been toying with Nepal and Bhutan as options for the alternative route, before finally deciding on Bhutan. The Nepal route, say officials, would be too long and complicated as western Sikkim would then have to be connected to east Nepal. Moreover, the security situation in Nepal was not found ideal for such a move.

While the Centre had recently given its go-ahead to an 80-km alternative highway parallel to NH 31A, connecting Sevoke to Ranipool along the other side of the Teesta river, the recent closure of the highway due to political disturbances in Darjeeling made the Sikkim Government and the Centre realise that this new highway alone would not help as NH31-A was held hostage in Darjeeling itself. Marathon meetings followed, with proposals ranging from prosecution of protestors to alternative routes.

According to reports, the Transport Ministry and the Home Ministry confirmed that there was a move for an alternative route to Sikkim.

“A proposal for routing this access through Bhutan or Nepal and into Bangladesh was considered at a meeting. While no final decision was taken at our end, it is understood that Sikkim does need an alternative to NH 31A,” said R R Jha, MHA’s Director Border Management to national media.

( sOURCE: sIKKIM eXPRESS)