Thorough repair of entire NH 10 to be completed by March’ 23, promises Centre

NHIDCL officials have informed that the stretch of N.H. 10 from Rangpo to Ranipool, from km 52 to km 80, under their jurisdiction will be brought to good trafficable condition within a month’s time

EOI CORRESPONDENT | GANGTOK | OCTOBER 20, 2022 : Following the recent series of massive landslides on National Highway 10 disrupting traffic between Siliguri and Gangtok and Chief Minister of Sikkim Prem Singh Tamang expressing concern over the condition of the national highway, it has now been decided by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, in conjunction with the State PWDs of Sikkim and West Bengal and the National Highway and Infrastructure Development Corporation, to undertake a thorough repair of the entire stretch of N.H. 10 passing through the two states in a time-bound fashion; completing the job by March 2023.

According to a Press release issued by the Sikkim Department of Roads and Bridges on Thursday, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to take up development of the road surface for the entire 52-km stretch of N.H.10 in West Bengal and the surfacing work would e completed “by March 2023 positively.”

A total of 20 vulnerable spots have been identified on the stretch of N.H. 10 in West Bengal. Slope protection and landslide mitigation work have been sanctioned in four of these locations. Protection work at 12 other identified vulnerable locations will be processed for sanction. The West Bengal State PWD will submit immediately a proposal for rectification of four other “black spots. ” NHIDCL officials have informed that the stretch of N.H. 10 from Rangpo to Ranipool, from km 52 to km 80, under their jurisdiction will be brought to good trafficable condition within a month’s time.

The permanent improvement of four trouble spots, at 20th Mile, 19th Mile, S-Curve and 32nd mile, will require additional time for study, design of effective measures and execution of work. The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has directed the Sikkim State PWD immediately to submit a proposal to the Ministry for sanction of a project for the necessary repair and resurfacing of the stretch of the NH10 from Ranipool to Gangtok, km 80 to km 92. The stretch was taken over by Sikkim State PWD from NHIDCL in June 2019 and since then no major work has been sanctioned by the Ministry along the stretch till date.

Chief Engineer Border Roads Organization has informed that a detailed project report for the long term mitigation measures for the perennial trouble spot at Chandmari has also been prepared by them and forwarded for sanction. Addressing the plenary session of the North Eastern Council in Guwahati on October 8 and 9, the Sikkim Chief Minister drew attention to the present deplorable condition of N.H.10., the only road link connecting Sikkim with the mainland. 

The rapidly deteriorating condition of the road was adversely affecting the tourism sector, the main revenue earner of Sikkim, which has just been recovering from the impact of the pandemic. Regular commuters on the road are also facing serious problems. Subsequent to this, on October 16 a high level team headed by Director General Road Development of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Chief Engineer North East Region, Road Transport and Highways inspected the entire stretch of N. H. 10 from Siliguri to Gangtok to take stock of the existing ground reality. They were accompanied by officials from the West Bengal and Sikkim State PWD, NHIDCL and BRO. The detailed measures for road restoration were worked out at a meeting in Gangtok on October 17chaired by the Chief Secretary of Sikkim. All the officials taking part in the joint inspection the day before were present in the meeting, including the Chief Engineer PWD of West Bengal.