Sikkim highway SOS in vain

Gangtok, June 19: Sikkim remains cut off from the rest of the country with SOS messages sent to the Centre and the Bengal government to free its lifeline, NH31A, from the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s indefinite bandh eliciting only assurances.

At the moment, the only mode of transport between the hill state and the plains is the helicopter service run by Sikkim Transport Development Corporation (STDC).

A senior official in the Sikkim government said they were in constant touch with Delhi and Calcutta, but barring assurances there had been no positive development. “The assurances are yet to turn into reality as we continue to suffer,” the official said.

Bengal chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb said in Calcutta today that chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had been apprised of Sikkim’s situation. “We have also informed the centre about the blockades on NH31A,” Deb added.

There is growing resentment in Sikkim regarding the Morcha, which has shut down the Darjeeling hills to demand a separate state. Picketers are blocking NH31A at Rangpo and Melli, the only two entry points to Sikkim.

The president of the Sikkim Chamber of Commerce, S. K. Sarda, said the state’s current stock of essential commodities would last four-five days. The state government has already rationed petrol, diesel and LPG.

Ramesh Prasad, a dealer in construction material, said all building work in the state had stopped because nothing can be brought in from the plains.

But some people did manage to leave the state by flying to Bagdogra on a helicopter.

“We usually fly one sortie (a return trip) a day, but today we had to fly six because there were students, patients and people on urgent business who had to get to Bagdogra,” said L.B. Chhetri, the chief executive officer of STDC.

The helicopter can carry five passengers in each trip.

With the weather playing foul today, the helicopter, which flies from the Burtuk helipad near Gangtok, had to take off and land from the Rangpo cricket ground. Although Chhetri could not specify the exact number of people who needed to fly out, he said about 30 people had availed of the 25-minute flight that costs Rs 2,800, one way.

Sikkim chief secretary N.D. Chingapa has ruled out the possibility of deploying the army. “Since the blockades are in Bengal, the matter lies with them. We are in constant touch with Calcutta,” he said.