Recurring natural disasters throw spanner in Sikkim railway project

Sivok, located around 20km from Siliguri, is a station along the Dooars railway route that connects Siliguri Junction with Alipurduar Junction

Work on the Sivok-Rangpo railway project in progress.: File image

Bireswar Banerjee, TT, Siliguri, 26.06.24  : Recurring natural disasters ranging from landslides to flash floods on the Teesta, which in turn snap road connectivity in Sikkim and Kalimpong district, have affected the progress of the ambitious railway project that will connect Sivok in Bengal with Rangpo in the Himalayan state.

Sivok, located around 20km from Siliguri, is a station along the Dooars railway route that connects Siliguri Junction with Alipurduar Junction.

In 2009, the railway project to connect Rangpo, the border town of Sikkim, was initiated. Mamata Banerjee was the railway minister then.

“We are facing a slew of problems in implementing the project. Frequent landslides along NH10 affect the transportation of our equipment and goods. Landslides, flash floods on the Teesta and erosion are hampering tasks like building tunnels and storing different materials,” said Mahender Singh, the project director of IRCON International (Indian Railway Construction International Limited), which has been executing the project.

The 45km-long railway route will have four stations beyond Sivok. They are Reang, Teesta Bazaar and Melli in Bengal and Rangpo in Sikkim. The route will have 14 tunnels, 22 bridges and two road over-bridges.

“It is an important infrastructure project for India because of strategic reasons. Sikkim is a state which sits on the India-China border. Rail connectivity to the state is of paramount importance,” said a retired army officer in Siliguri.

Sources said the project had been delayed for several reasons, including the Covid-19 pandemic. However, in the past couple of years, there was some significant progress and a goal was set to ready the rail route by December this year.

Till now, 65 per cent of the project has been completed. Of the 14 tunnels, 11 are ready. Bridges are being built and work on railway yards and stations is in progress.

“The flash flood on the Teesta in October last year forced the authorities to reschedule the deadline to August 2025. The work is going on but regular disruptions because of natural calamities are a cause of concern for IRCON International,” said a source.

Officials of IRCON International have written to the Union ministry of road transport and highways and the NH division of Bengal public works department (PWD), seeking their intervention to ensure that there is no disruption in traffic along NH10.

“There should be steady road connectivity so that we can carry on with our work,” said Singh, the project director.

Golay meets Gadkari

P.S. Tamang (Golay), the chief minister of Sikkim, met Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday and appealed to him for a sustainable solution to frequent disruptions on the Sevoke-Rangpo stretch of NH10.

On Monday, Tamang met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and requested him to hand over the Bengal stretch of the highway to national agencies like the NHAI or the NHIDCL for maintenance.

The chief minister submitted a proposal for an alternative highway in the mountain state to Gadkari and asked for another alternative road between Melli and Sintam, which are 22.5km apart.

While speaking with Gadkari, Tamang also mentioned the recent rainfall in northern parts of Sikkim which disrupted NH310A that connects Gangtok with the China border and sought the prompt restoration of the highway, sources said. 

Courtesy & source- The Telegraph