![The uncertainties surrounding National Highway 10 The uncertainties surrounding National Highway 10](https://thehillstimes.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/sk-nh.jpg)
The uncertainties surrounding National Highway 10
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(Courtesy: The Hill Times) |
In the first place, there may be hurdles in the process of this transfer in view of the not-too-cordial relations between the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal and the BJP-led government at the Centre. Lok Sabha M.P. from Sikkim, Indra Hang Subba, has regularly been raising the issue of landslides on NH 10 in Parliament and bringing it to the attention of Nitin Gadkari. “Some may try to give a narrative on social media that this demand is a clash with the West Bengal government. It is wrong to see this demand in that perspective. We are saying NH 10 is an interstate highway. It will also benefit West Bengal and is the lifeline of Sikkim. This is not a clash between the Sikkim and Bengal governments. We must see it as a win-win situation for both governments and hence, we are optimistic that the Bengal government will agree to this,” he has noted. The Lok Sabha MP from Sikkim is correct in his perspective, but the question is whether the West Bengal government will take it in the same spirit.
There is little doubt that the maintenance and management of the highway will improve if the responsibility is transferred to the NHIDCL from the West Bengal PWD. NHIDCL is a specialized body formed for the purpose of the construction and maintenance of national highways. They have at their disposal more expertise and resources and access to Central funds. On the other hand, the West Bengal government is cash-strapped. There may be difficulties on the part of the West Bengal PWD in ensuring adequate maintenance of the road.
There are bigger questions involved also, which may be difficult to address by the NHIDCL with all its expertise and resources. The impact of the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood of October 2023 in Sikkim on NH 10, it seems, has not yet been fully ascertained. It may be difficult to address the issues of frequent landslides and subsidence of the road if the massive volume of water that flowed down the Teesta River in the form of a flash flood in the wake of the collapse of the dam at Chungthang has damaged the foundation of the highway. Only the experts can say how to address such an exigency.
One of the redeeming features is that a railway line is coming up from Sevoke to Rangpo, hugging the alignment of NH 10, and will provide an alternative mode of transport to people living in this region. The flash flood of October 2023 and the spate of heavy rains this year seem not to have affected the alignment of the under-construction railway line in a big way, as the tunnels are being completed at regular intervals. There is, however, the uncomfortable question of whether the construction of the railway line itself is contributing to the frequent landslides on NH 10. People living in these areas often complain that the use of explosives to blast the rocks loosens the surface of the hills, leading to landslides.
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