National Desk, 2 June: Sikkim is an important state bordering the north-east of India. At present, national highway 10 is the only way to connect Sikkim with the rest of India. But during the rainy season, the roads are blocked in bad weather as the roads are flooded by the speed of the Teesta river. Since most of the tunnels are available in this Chivak project bad weather will not be able to spoil connectivity now.
Sikkim was included in India in 1950 but not a single train has arrived here in 73 years so far. Under prime minister Narendra Modi’s much-publicised ‘Look East’ policy recently, Railways has launched a number of railway projects to create new railway networks and bring the state on the rail map. One such project is Sivok Rangpo.
Sivak Rangpo is a project that will connect Sikkim with the rest of India through railways. Sikkim is the only state in the country where railway tracks have not yet reached. People will be able to travel from Bengal to Sikkim in just 2 hours with the help of the Chhivk Rangpo project.
It is to be noted that the Sivak Rangpo project has been built on a very complex geographical area. This project has the most tunnels and bridges. The project consists of 38.62 km i.e. 86 per cent of tunnels and 5 per cent of bridges. It is learnt that these tunnels have been built with new Austrian technology. The 44.96-km total project has 14 tunnels, 22 bridges and 5 railway stations. These are Sivak, Reang, Teesta, Meli and Rangpo. What is special is that the project was launched in 2010, but due to the difficult geographical conditions, the project was not completed.
The construction of this railway line will not only help the local people but it will also be of great benefit to the tourists and the Army. With the country’s border sharing with China-occupied Tibet and other territories it is believed to play a very helpful strategic role in mobilizing troops and maintaining supply chains during emergencies.
The Chhivk Rangpo project is the first phase and in its most crucial phase it will go via Gangtok to the Nathula border. China is carrying out a number of constructions in the border areas. Now Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it easier for the army to reach the border by constructing similar projects not only in the Northeast but also in Leh in north India.