Amalendu Kundu from Gangtok
The Centre has decided to accord high priority in development of road connectivity along the India-China border in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh because of heightened activities of the People’s Liberation Army of China along the border regions of the Himalayas.
Union minister for surface transport Nitin Gadkari, at a function here, recently announced spending of Rs 66,000 crores in the construction of roads, airports and inland waterway facilities in Sikkim and other parts of the north-east region. In a three-day visit to Sikkim, Gadkari also laid the foundation stones for four road projects in Sikkim.
After a meeting at Chintan Bhavan, he said Rs 16,618 crore would be spent in Sikkim in the coming three to four years through the National Highway and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) in developing connectivity within the state. In the second phase of development, the rail link, now under construction, till Rangpo would be extended to Nathula Pass, the 14,400-foot high pass on the India-China border. He said the road connectivity between Sikkim and West Bengal would also be improved and 100 Kms of new road network would be laid in Darjeeling to make the lifeline of Sikkim more reliable. From now on, the NHIDCL would take the initiative in developing roads in the states in these areas, bordering on China, Bhutan and Nepal.
Looking at the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s activities along the Sikkim border (432 km long), near the Himalayan-Tibet border in the recent years, up to Arunachal Pradesh, the Centre has now given high priority to these areas, concentrating on communication services and inter-state lining in whole of the eight North-Eastern states.
In the past 10 to 12 years, the Border Roads Organisation could not make progress of a single inch in the construction of the road because the forest department of West Bengal had refused to give clearance for it. The proposed 178-km road is important from the point of view of Defence as it would facilitate movement of the army to the Nathula border. The road from Sevoke would pass along the length of the India–China border in the sector and would also provide an alternative approach to Gangtok in case the existing national highway through Teesta Bridge is closed because of political agitations.
Gadkari said if forest clearance from the West Bengal government is not forthcoming, his ministry was ready to approve the construction of an underground tunnel through the reserve forest areas.
A recent instance of such tunnel-building is the extension of railway link to Rangpo. Out of the 42-km long railway line from Sevoke to Rangpo, 29 kms would be passing through tunnels being built by the railway ministry.
Other roads to the forward areas of Sikkim, along the India–China border in north Sikkim, would pass through areas as high as 21,000 feet.
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