The nightmare of travelling on national highway 10 (NH-10), the only arterial road linking Sikkim and Kalimpong with Siliguri, continues to haunt commuters. Poor road conditions, frequent landslides, and sudden disruptions have left people of Sikkim and Kalimpong in deep trouble, forcing them to take alternative routes and spend hours extra on journeys meant to be much shorter.
On Thursday, the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) had to close the road from mid-day till late evening for urgent restoration works. However, the situation has shown little improvement. At one point, a tree suddenly fell on the highway, completely halting movement. Travellers from Kalimpong, who had to take detours to reach Siliguri, reported spending more than three additional hours on the road. Residents of Sikkim too are facing similar hardships, with the NH-10 virtually reduced to a hazardous, unreliable corridor.
The crisis has drawn the attention of both elected representatives and state authorities. Darjeeling MP Raju Bista recently inspected stretches of NH-10 and reported the matter to the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH). In Sikkim, minister for roads and bridges Nar Bahadur Dahal (Chettri) has written to Union minister Nitin Gadkari, urging immediate intervention for both urgent restoration and a long-term solution.
In his letter, Dahal described NH-10 as “the principal and, in fact, the only reliable road link connecting Sikkim to the rest of the country.” He stressed that the road is not only a lifeline for daily movement of goods, services, and people, but also crucial for strategic connectivity to India’s international borders.
The minister highlighted that landslides, even triggered by light rainfall, regularly cut off the highway for hours or days. Stretches between Rangpo and Gangtok have developed deep cracks and subsidence, posing serious safety hazards, while erosion along the Teesta River has narrowed the road dangerously. These disruptions, he warned, directly affect the inflow of essential commodities, fuels, medicines, and construction materials into Sikkim, impacting both livelihoods and the economy.
“Despite regular maintenance efforts, the scale of damage and recurrence of problems now require comprehensive refurbishment rather than routine repairs,” Dahal wrote. He pressed for the construction of a new, all-weather, high-speed corridor with tunnelling and bypass alignments, as well as a dedicated NH-10 management cell equipped with modern monitoring systems.
“Sikkim’s aspirations for sustainable development, economic growth, and secure connectivity are deeply linked to the health of its road network, particularly NH-10,” he added, appealing for Gadkari’s “personal intervention and guidance” to ensure year-round safe and reliable connectivity.