Sikkim: Upper Dzongu bridge to complete by March 2023, says Minister

The two-lane bridge over the Kanaka River is being built to connect the cut-off two GPUs of Upper Dzongu by March 2023, informed Roads and Bridges Minister Samdup Lepcha in the Assembly.

Work is underway, and a March 2023 deadline has been set, according to the minister in response to a question raised by Dzongu MLA Pintso Namgyal Lepcha on Friday.

The Dzongu MLA had inquired about the delay in the completion of the bridge between Kayem and Tingvong in Upper Dzongu, which is being built by a Gurugram-based company.

After a massive landslide in August 2016 washed away the single-lane bridge and roads at Mantam, the Tingvong and Sakyong-Pentong GPUs were cut off from the rest of Sikkim.

The debris also clogged the river flow, resulting in the formation of an artificial lake at Mantam.

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Currently, vehicular movement is restricted during the winter when the river level drops, whereas transhipment occurs most months of the year for the two remote GPUs.

Work on the two-lane bridge from Kayem to Tingvong, which will cost Rs. 88.54 crore, began in 2018-19.

Physical progress on the bridge has reached 70%, with a total payment of Rs. 62.41 crore made to date, according to the Roads and Bridges Minister.

The delay, according to Samdup, was caused by the Covid pandemic, lockdowns, and travel restrictions, as well as a labour shortage.

He also stated that construction materials could not be delivered on time due to transportation issues on the Mantam stretch of the river.

The minister assured the Dzongu MLA that the department is committed to completing the bridge by 2023, while the Dzongu MLA pressed for monitoring of departmental engineers on the site.

While posing the question, Pintso Namgyal stated that the delay in completing the Kayem bridge is exacerbating the hardships endured by the villagers of Tingvong and Sakyong-Pentong GPUs. He also questioned the steps taken to rehabilitate affected families in four Upper Dzongu villages hit by major landslides in 2020.

“A rehabilitation programme was prepared wherein Chadey village near Mangan has been identified for allotment of 60 units of dwelling houses to the affected people of Passingdang and Bey villages. Similarly, as the Ramom and Upper Ship villages were severely affected by landslides, the inhabitants were shifted to safer locations whereas after assessing the vulnerability of the entire region, a new location for rehabilitation has been identified at Shipgyer where 18 units of houses are proposed for construction,” said the minister.

He informed that the proposal for rehabilitation under permanent restoration has been submitted to the Home ministry for financial assistance under long term measures under NDRF. The Dzongu MLA also sought replies on the construction of single lane steel bridges at Bey and details on maintenance of roads from Tingvong to Bey Pentong.

Bey, Passingdang, Ramom, and Upper Ship were the villages affected. K.N. Lepcha, Minister of Land Revenue and Disaster Management, stated that adequate compensation has been provided to affected households.