The Hindu Business Line : Rains disrupt movement of essential goods in Sikkim

The details
Traffic on National Highway 31A, the only road link with this tiny Himalayan State remains erratic, with repair work being impeded by the continuous downpour.
A major portion of the highway connecting a bridge at Tarkhola under Kalimpong Sub-division, between Rangpo and Melli, has caved in, cutting off Sikkim from the rest of the country.

Sarikah Atrey

Gangtok, Sept.12 Incessant rain during the past two weeks is continuing to wreak havoc across the State, causing damage and throwing the traffic out of gear. The essential commodities is fast depleting in Sikkim, even as the State Government has taken steps to ensure adequate supplies and stocks to tide over the situation. Prices of vegetables and other essential commodities have shot up. The price of local vegetable produce has also increased steeply.

Traffic on National Highway 31A, the only road link with this tiny Himalayan State remains erratic, with repair work being impeded by the continuous downpour. A major portion of the highway connecting a bridge at Tarkhola under Kalimpong Sub-division, between Rangpo and Melli, has caved in, taking with it a portion of the bridge, thus cutting off Sikkim from the rest of the country.

Passengers heading towards Siliguri and Darjeeling have been facing a lot of hardship as most vehicles have been forced to take detours from Kalimpong, which is double the travel time.

According to the Border Roads Organisation, the highway has been breached in about 36 places, between Sevoke near Siliguri in West Bengal and Gangtok.

There is also a shortage of LPG and Petrol and Diesel in the State. Supplies from the LPG bottling plant at Mazitar in East Sikkim have been affected following the closure of the highway. The usual supply of LPG cylinders to the State Trading Corporation of Sikkim (STCS) has also come to an abrupt halt.

An emergency meeting, called by the Chief Secretary, Mr ND Chingapa, to take stock of the situation was attended by departments , including the Army and the Border Roads Organisation. While availability of foodgrain, especially the buffer stock of rice, is adequate in the State, stocks of petrol, oil and lubricants is low. The Army has suggested that stocks available with them could be used after clearance from the Ministry of Defence.

Yesterday, the highway opened late in the evening after the breach at Tarkhola was temporarily repaired to allow heavy supply vehicles, stranded for a week now. According to a police officer , more than 500 trucks loaded with foodgrain, hardware items, tankers of petrol, diesel, kerosene oil and gas etc, are waiting to enter Sikkim.

The BRO’s priority would now be the repair of about 700 meters stretch of road near the Tarkhola bridge with the help of the Hindustan Construction Company. Work to construct a new bridge at Tarkhola will start within four days, BRO officials said. More than 10 people have already lost their lives in landslides in the State.

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