Sevoke: The Sevoke-Rangpo rail project is likely to overrun the deadline as despite setting the target of 2024, Ircon International Limited sees no hope of completing it before December 2027.
The construction agency pointed out hurdles like natural calamity and landslides for the possible delay and top officials said it will take a minimum of two years to complete the track laying process of the already dug tunnel.
In 2023, there were repeated instances of landslides in the National Highway 10 in Sikkim and to stop additional pressure, the Kalimpong district administration banned vehicles over 10 tonnes on it, which impacted the rail project adversely.
Mahinder Singh, the project director of Ircon, said the agency is facing constraints in transporting heavy rail girders and rail tracks apart from the loose soil during tunnel digging.
"Given the present situation, it is highly unlikely that the project will be completed before December 2027. The Sevoke-Rangpo route is 45 kilometers and 14 tunnels are being dug for it. For completion, heavy equipment will have to be transported on the mountainous route which is getting delayed due to the poor roads. However, many tunnels and bridges have been completed," Singh said.
The project was inaugurated in 2009 by then Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee and work started in 2018 following clearance of land acquisition and compensation hurdles. It was decided to finish the project by 2023 but floods and continuous landslips on the NH-10 in 2024 hampered it several times.
Finally, it was decided that the project would be completed in 2025, which marks 50 years of Sikkim's integration with India. But that too was watered down by nagging rains and the resultant landslides on the highway.
Among the 14 tunnels, the longest one is five kilometres with 22 bridges of which the iron-girder bridge at Kalijhora is ready and another one would be constructed in the Teesta Market area. The works for the No. 8 and 10 bridges are in progress and the rest are ready. Tracks are being laid on five of them and Ircon is racing against time to complete it at the earliest.
The project has brought hope for the tourism industry as well as security experts due to its strategic location.
"This project is immensely important for the Northeast. But it was supposed to end in 2026. This will be beneficial to both the tourism and the defence sectors." Samrat Sanyal, secretary of Himalayan Hospitality Travel and Tour Development Network, said.
"The project is being undertaken for national security but it will hugely benefit the tourism industry, harnessing socioeconomic development for the people of North Bengal. The project needs to be completed at the earliest," Surajit Pal, secretary of the Federation of Chamber and Commerce of Indian Industry, said.
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