Centre should resolve NH 10 problem immediately: Golay

YOWAN MOTHAY, EOI, KALIMPONG, JULY 8, 2024 :  As the National Highway-10 is causing many problems to the Darjeeling hills and Sikkim, the Centre should resolve this problem immediately, Sikkim Chief Minister P. S. Golay demanded on Monday while addressing a news conference in Kalimpong. 

“Not only today, but the problem of the national highway has been therefor a long time,” Golay said. As the Chief Minister of Sikkim, he had informed the Centre about the situation many times. 

During his recent visit to Delhi, he informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Saha and Union Minister for Road Transport Nitin Gadkari about the current condition of National Highway-10.When placing the problem of National Highway-10 before the Centre, he had said that he was not only placing the problem of Sikkim but also of the Darjeeling hills.

"The problem of National Highway-10 is the problem of Sikkim and the Darjeeling hills. This should be resolved by the Centre immediately. Apart from this, National Highway-10 is also connected with the security of the country. If the highway is closed, the movement of the army will be stopped. Apart from this, the movement of the people is also stopped. That is why this is a big problem”, he said. 

For the Darjeeling hills, this problem is like an “old wound,” he said. He had also made suggestions of alternative ways before the Centre to solve these problems. Even though National Highway-10 is under the authority of the Centre, it was maintained by the West Bengal government.
He said he did not want to blame any state government, but said that if the highway was maintained by the Centre the problem could be resolved at an earlier date. When the National Highway-10 was closed, Sikkim incurred a loss of Rs 100crore per day, he said. 

“This is a huge loss. This is causing a lot of problems.” He said that he, along with his two MPs and Darjeeling Lok Sabha member Raju Bista had also approached the centre to solve the problem of NationalHighway-10. 

He said that if a road from Bagrakot to Rorathang was built, the problem of NationalHighway-10 could be solved. He said in 1917 the British had conducted a survey for a proposed train route from Bagrakote to Rorathang, a distance of only 72 km.

Earlier, he had suggested that such a train route could also provide a robust means of transportation to Sikkim. The setting up of multiple stations along the route could benefit West Bengal which too suffered during the monsoon. 

Speaking about the water level of the Teesta River, he said, the Teesta River would rise and water would flood the roads. The river bed had risen due to the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood of October 4 last.“ This is the problem. Work carefully.” 

He appealed that no one should build a house on the banks of the river. ”We all came together to resolve the October 4floods in Sikkim. We were also able to give relief. The Center has recently provided Rs 245 crore for temporary settlement while an initiative of Rs3600 crore is underway for permanent settlement. ”

He thanked the Centre for helping Sikkim during the flood. He thought that even the Darjeeling hills should also get relief.