Sikkim train plans: Railways awaits Bengal land nod

SNS, Siliguri, 23 October: The much-talked-about railway project that would bring the Himalayan state of Sikkim in the country's railway map for the first time has hit snag, given the unavailability of land needed for the 52.7-km tracks, officials have said.

Updating on the progress of the project that would link Sevoke in north Bengal with Rangpo in Sikkim, General Manager of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NPR), Sanjiv Roy, said work is "under process" and that most of the work has been done in Sikkim areas"

However, it may be mentioned here that only around 4 km of the railway tracks for the proposed project falls in Sikkim, while the remaining will be built on the Bengal side. where forest villagers have been opposing the project and demanding that the government first implement the Forest Rights Act and give them their due rights. Forest villagers say several villages and hamlets on the Bengal side will be affected once work on the project begins as the tracks have to cut through a large swathe of such forest areas.

Mr Roy yesterday wrapped up a three-day visit to Sikkim, where he took stock of the present situation after the monsoon rains and held meetings with Sikkim government officials in this regard.

Asked about the problems forest villagers would likely face with the implementation of the project, Mr Roy said, "The train would be mostly passing through tunnels so it does not seem to be a problem."

"However,land is a matter of state government, and not the railways. We can proceed further with the project after the land issues are resolved," he added.

According to him, the railways has appealed to the state government to acquire land for laying of the railway tracks. "We are in touch with the state government, and we are hopeful that the issues will be resolved soon," he added.

Meanwhile, state tourism minister Gautam Deb said that he will take this issue to the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the chief secretary during his visit to Kolkata.

"I was present when the foundation stone for the project was laid by the then railway minister, Mamata Banerjee, in 2009. We want the work to be completed as soon as possible because the nation's interest is involved in this. It is a very big project. Villagers should be rehabilitated and compensated, and the Centre should look into this. I am not aware of the talks between the railways and the state government but in the local level, they should have had talks with us, and maybe we could help them," Mr Deb said.