Rethink on NH31A double lane project

Kalimpong, Feb. 11: The proposal to double-lane NH31A from Sevoke to Gangtok is being reconsidered with a special task force of the Union surface transport ministry looking at the possibility of alternative alignments between the two points. This is after the Sikkim government has raised doubts over the feasibility of double-laning the highway as the hills along this stretch are fragile.

During the last monsoon, traffic on the highway was severely disrupted following frequent landslides at various places along the route. According to sources in the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in New Delhi and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), the task force, headed by D. Saran, additional director general in the surface transport ministry, has suggested two different alignments.

The first one is proposed along the left bank of the Teesta river from the Teesta bridge to the Coronation Bridge, and the second one on the right bank of the river from Ranipool to the Teetsa bridge.

The search for the new alignment has no connection with the proposal to widen the Damdim-Rishi-Rhenok-Ranipool road, another link between Gangtok and Siliguri.

This road will be widened to national highway single lane specifications as per the requirements of the troops guarding the Sikkim border, said a BRO source.

The original plan was to double-lane NH31A from Sevoke to Nathula. While the BRO has already started work on the Gangtok-Nathula stretch of the highway, it will take more time before the Sevoke-Gangtok work takes off. Notably, the NHAI is supposed to execute the double-laning work between Sevoke and Gangtok.

Environmentalists have breathed a sigh of relief over the ministry’s decision to look for alternative alignment. “It is a sound decision. The hills along the highway are fragile and any attempt to disturb them could prove very costly,” said Vikash Pradhan, an environmental activist.