State team inspects Rabongla-Singtam road after public complaints against NHIDCL

Monday, May 10, 2021 08:00 [IST]

Last Update: Monday, May 10, 2021 02:24 [IST]

State team inspects Rabongla-Singtam road after public complaints against NHIDCL

KUNAL RAI

GANGTOK,: Following the direction of Chief Minister P.S. Golay, a joint team headed by Roads & Bridges advisor and MLA G.T. Dhungel today inspected Rabongla-Singtam road where NHIDCL is undertaking double laning work.
There were complaints of the road widening work posing threat to public lives and properties.
“We have made various observations and our priority is the safety of the local residents. We will submit a report of the inspection to the Chief Minister soon,” said Dhungel who was accompanied by officials from line department and NHIDCL.
Dhungel informed that the NHIDCL was directed to undertake the road expansion work with protective walls and proper drainage system to prevent further risk to the public. There is a need to take action before monsoon starts, he said.
Temi-Namphing MLA and Tourism minister B.S. Panth informed SIKKIM EXPRESS that the NHIDCL had been previously urged to erect protective walls before the onset of monsoon, which the NHIDCL failed to.
“We feel it is a sheer negligence from the part of the NHIDCL authority. I even updated the Chief Minister on the status following which a high level coordination meeting was held and an onsite joint inspection was carried out today,” said Panth.
Panth said they are hopeful that the NHIDCL will carry out construction of walls on priority and in a war footing manner. Presently I am in home isolation but will closely monitor the situation and ensure that protective work is undertaken expeditiously so that the roadside public feel secure, he said.
South district collector M. Bharani Kumar said the district administration had received complaints following which the administration along with NHIDCL authority carried out inspection of the road construction work from Singtam to Rabongla via Tarku on April 30 and recommended some major initiatives. We are sure the issues pertaining to the road will be resolved on priority, he added.    

Sikkim at a Glance

  • Area: 7096 Sq Kms
  • Capital: Gangtok
  • Altitude: 5,840 ft
  • Population: 6.10 Lakhs
  • Topography: Hilly terrain elevation from 600 to over 28,509 ft above sea level
  • Climate:
  • Summer: Min- 13°C - Max 21°C
  • Winter: Min- 0.48°C - Max 13°C
  • Rainfall: 325 cms per annum
  • Language Spoken: Nepali, Bhutia, Lepcha, Tibetan, English, Hindi