Border Infrastructure Development & Updates
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Sikkim residents say road connecting India, Nepal will make life easier; experts eye ecotourism boost
Purna Hang Subba, a resident of Dentam in the northeast Indian state of Sikkim, is excited that a much-awaited Indo-Nepal project — a road that connects Sikkim to eastern Nepal via the Chiwa Bhanjyang border —is nearing completion.“The work had stalled during the monsoon, but it is progressing now,” said Subba.
“The 20-kilometre-long trans-Himalayan road was announced in 2011 under the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) , an initiative of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. But due to its 15-kilometre-long forest land stretch, the project got the green signal for road construction only in 2018 by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests,” said Hari Shankar Sharma, chief engineer, Road and Bridges Department, Government of Sikkim.
“The road construction is in near completion stage and a fair weather drive can be expected by beginning of 2022,” Sharma said. “However, with the remaining job of widening, carpeting and proper drainage, this road will take another year to be fully functional,” Sharma added.
“Extreme weather conditions and difficult terrain are causing delays in full-fledged road construction. Work is stopped in the monsoons due to heavy rainfall and again in winters due to snowfall. We can only work for 4-5 months of the year, Sharma said.
According to the Sikkim Road and Bridges Department, the body involved in construction of the Uttarey-Chiwa Bhanjyang road, the revised cost for this project is 55.5 crore as compared to the estimated cost when the project was initiated in 2011.
Meanwhile on the Nepalese side, a road from Chiwa Bhanjyang up to the India-Nepal border has existed since 2013. With the completion of the Indian leg, Sikkim will be connected with the Nepal highway that stretches up to Darchula, the western end of Nepal.
The road route is expected to boost trade and tourism on both sides of the border. The region falls under the Khangchendzonga Landscape, an area spread across 25,080.8 square kilometres in India, Nepal and Bhutan. Image courtesy Diwash Gahatraj
Uttarey lies at an altitude of 6,600 feet in western Sikkim while Chiwabhanjyang in Nepal is at a height of 10,500 feet. The road linking the two border towns provides a stunning panorama of mount Kanchenjunga and access to picturesque trekking routes. The road route is expected to boost trade and tourism on both sides of the border. The region falls under the Khangchendzonga Landscape, an area spread across 25,080.8 square kilometres in India, Nepal and Bhutan.
According to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) India’s Khangchendzonga Landscape lies at the heart of the eastern Himalayas. It includes the state of Sikkim as well as northern West Bengal. The area lies in the shadow of the towering 8,585-metre Khangchendzonga peak – the third highest mountain in the world. The northern part of this landscape comprises Sikkim, which has about 82 percent of its geographical area under forest jurisdiction. Darjeeling district and parts of Jalpaiguri are also part of this landscape.
The total area of this landscape is less than 10,000 km. Due to a wide range of altitudes here, between 150 metres and 8,500 metres, this landscape boasts of a great variety of plants that range from tropical and temperate to alpine and tundra. This is one of the few regions in the world to exhibit such diversity in a small area. A great variety of wild animals are found in this area and the beautiful landscape is home to diverse ethnic communities.
Due to its unique landscape, flora and fauna the upcoming road in West Sikkim may give a good boom for transboundary ecotourism in both countries. The landscape has opportunities for sustainable development through regional cooperation, cites a report published by International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), a Kathmandu based think tank.
Transboundary ecotourism refers to visits to destinations across borders to experience culture, nature, lifestyles, cuisines, landmarks. The scope of transboundary ecotourism is wide and can attract tourists from across the globe.
Due to its unique landscape, flora and fauna the upcoming road in West Sikkim may give a good boom for transboundary ecotourism in both countries. Image courtesy Diwash Gahatraj
Highlighting the region’s potential to become an ecotourism hotspot Peter Lobo of All India Birding Tours from Kalimpong said, “The road will help bring bird watchers, adventure lovers and nature enthusiasts from across the globe. This will help the locals to build up a tourism based ecosystem.” Lobo has done many bird watching tours and treks in the Chiwabhanjyang area in the past. The international pass situated at 10,299 ft above sea level has a unique biodiversity which attracts lots of tourists every season, Lobo added.
Tourism in Sikkim has vastly developed in the last few years. After a lull due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions from 2020 to mid-2021, the region is again witnessing tourist in flow. According to Kapil Meena, director, Sikkim Tourism department “the new road will boost tourism in West Sikkim. With the easy road accessibility more tourists can visit the beautiful villages of West district which help boost the economy of existing homestays and will also help villagers to start new ones.”
Knowing the fragility of the Kanchendonza Landscape, Meena spoke about sustainable tourism. “Toll taxes can be levied when the road gets functional and revenue generated can be used in implementing sustainable tourism practices.”
Besides the development of trade and tourism in the region with the start of the upcoming border road, this route has a geo political importance, says Dr Arnab Chakrabarty from the International Relations Department of Sikkim University.
“Nepal has always been a close neighbour and India has traditionally enjoyed warm trade relations and cultural similarities with Nepal. However, with passing time, the relationship has seen some hard times related to the territorial disputes between the two nations. The upcoming roadway connectivity will improve the bilateral ties between both the countries and help boost tourism and small business and traders on both sides of the border,” Chakrabarty said.
He also spoke on the ‘unhealthy’ influence of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on Nepal. “China's strategy lies in logistical connectivity, supplementing the receiving state's economy with massive opaque loans and other developmental projects. However, this pressurises the receiving state to obey future diktats from Beijing. Since all such projects require massive logistical support China focuses on road, rail and aerial connectivity. India in this regard should be seriously concerned considering Nepal's closeness with it. The road may be one of the solutions that both New Delhi and Kathmandu can focus on. Benign economic relations may outstrip Nepal's nascent dependency on the Chinese government,” Chakrabarty added.
Sikkim residents say road connecting India, Nepal will make life easier; experts eye ecotourism boost
Uttarey lies at an altitude of 6,600 feet in western Sikkim while Chiwabhanjyang in Nepal is at a height of 10,500 feet. The road linking the two border towns provides a stunning panorama of mount Kanchenjunga and access to picturesque trekking routes.
ITBP deploys own engineering wing to construct Indo-China border roads, foot tracks
Amid military standoff with China, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police has decided to deploy its specialised engineering wing for constructing certain roads and foot tracks along the LAC.
Spangmik – Khakted road built along Pangong Lake near LAC
With the construction of the Spangmik—Khakted road along the Pangong Lake near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, the long-standing demand of residents of the remote Man village of Ladakh has been met.The road will also be useful for tourists who visit the iconic lake in large numbers.
Konchok Stanzin, councilor of the Chushul segment of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Develeopment Council (LAHDC), said that 28.10 kms length of the 38.80 kms of the road has been completed at an expenditure of Rs.11.41 crore under the Prime Minister Grameen Sadak Yojna (PMGSY).
Spangmik - Khakted road built along Pangong Lake near LAC
construction of the Spangmik—Khakted road along the Pangong Lake near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China
In SC’s Chardham order: Defence supreme, green compliance monitoring comes full circle
The crux of Tuesday’s Supreme Court judgment that modified its September 2020 order on the optimal width for hill highways is its refusal to question the defence policies of an elected government. In doing so, the apex court sought what is called a “delicate balance” between environmental considerations and security needs.Dismissing the argument based on the minority report of its own High Powered Committee (HPC) that a disaster-resilient, intermediate road width was much more critical than a wider road “prone to frequent blockages, landslides and recurring slope failures” for the country’s defence needs, the apex court held that its judicial review could not “second-guess the infrastructural needs” of the armed forces.
“The submission of the appellants requires the Court to interrogate the policy choice of the establishment which is entrusted by law with the defence of the nation. This is impermissible,” the judgment held.
On that emphatic ground, the Supreme Court modified its September 2020 order while noting that the Chardham project “is riddled with environmental issues” and making the approval for wider roads conditional on implementing all the recommendations made by the HPC it appointed in August 2019.
It was HPC’s minority recommendation based on a March 2018 guideline issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) for mountain highways that made the court restrict the road width under the Chardham project to 5.5m carriageway (with 1.5m raised footpath) in September 2020. In November, the MoD joined the case, seeking relief to widen the strategic feeder roads to 7m carriageway (with 2×1.5m paved shoulders and 2x1m earthen shoulders).
On strategic security needs, the judgment Tuesday underlined that “balancing the interests of defence as against environmental considerations was outside the ambit of the HPC” which “was not competent to address, assess or review the security needs of the nation”.
Within the HPC’s mandate, though, the judgment highlighted the panel’s unanimous recommendations in considerable detail, holding that the remedial measures adopted so far “have only begun to scratch the surface”.
In that spirit, the bench observed: “Making the project environmentally compliant should not be seen a ‘checkbox’ to be obtained on the path to development, but rather as the path to sustained development itself. Thus, the measures adopted have to be well thought out and should actually address the specific concerns… Understandably, this may make the Project costlier, but that cannot be a valid justification to not operate within the framework of the environmental rule of law and sustainable development.”
More specifically, the judgment went on to note that “in many instances, MoRTH has gone ahead with the Project based on its assertions that the Project is compatible with environmental guidelines or that its developmental benefits are proportionate to the harm” and that “the State has tried to justify the efficacy of its current measures solely by noting their benefits directly to the Armed Forces” which “is not the only thing at stake in a Project of this scale”.
However, since “the considerations governing the construction of highways that are strategic roads from a defence perspective and may be used by the Armed Forces of the nation, cannot be the same as those for other” hill roads, the judgment sought to “arrive at a delicate balance of environmental considerations such that they do not impede infrastructural development, specifically in areas of strategic importance crucial to the security of the nation”.
To achieve that balance, the apex court made the approval for wider roads conditional on implementing all recommendations of the HPC on critical issues such as muck dumping, hill cutting, backfilling, stabilisation, drainage, disaster management etc.
However, the judgment also constituted an Oversight Committee, under retired Justice A K Sikri, to assess the implementation of these recommendations along the 674-km feeder roads. The HPC would anyway “continue with its work on overseeing the implementation of its recommendations” on the non-strategic roads under the Chardham project.
For the record, the HPC was set up in August 2019 to replace an Oversight Committee when the Supreme Court modified an order of the National Green Tribunal that directed constitution of the oversight panel under a former judge of the Uttarakhand High Court. In that sense, monitoring of environment compliance has come full circle in this case.
In SC’s Chardham order: Defence supreme, green compliance monitoring comes full circle
The Supreme Court also noted that the Chardham project “is riddled with environmental issues” and made the approval for wider roads conditional on implementing all the recommendations made by the HPC it appointed.
indianexpress.com
India is now home to world's highest motorable road: Chisumle-Demchok Road
Ladakh's Chisumle-Demchok Road, when it crosses the Umling Pass, is now the world's highest motorable road. Its highest point lies at an altitude of over 19,000 feet, making it an extraordinary feat. The road has built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which already has several such feats to its name and prides itself on connecting some of the toughest border regions and terrains in the country.Here are five facts about the Chisumle-Demchok Road that will take you by surprise:
Touted as the world's highest motorable road, this road in Ladakh spans for 52 km and connects some of the key areas in the region.
This road in Ladakh has made it to the Guiness Book of World Records by touching the staggering high altitude of 19,000 feet!
The road is a major alternative to the other direct route connecting Chisumle and Demchok, and is all the more important as the region is very close to the Indo-China border.
As per the government, it is higher than the Everest Base Camp!
This road also surpasses the altitude of Siachen Glacier, which is also believed to the highest, costliest and deadliest battlefield in the world.
India is now home to world's highest motorable road: Chisumle-Demchok Road
Ladakh's Chisumle-Demchok Road, when it crosses the Umling Pass, is now the world's highest motorable road. Its highest point lies at an altitude of over 19,000 feet, making it an extraordinary feat. The road has built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which already has several such feats...
Yes , let's all thank Xi for the only thing our political leadership in India be it 56" or Rangila Chacha can hold is their dxck , sometimes not even that & expect miracles from the armed forces with the bureaucracy further castrating the latter.
China will be back within a couple of years if not earlier . Let's see how far we would've reached then with our infrastructure building & general preparedness of our armed forces w.r.t to the theaterization , doctrine , arms procurement , deployment etc.
It's been more than a month now the position of the CDS is still vacant . I expect issues related to his office are being resolved in automode.
The present COAS is going to be appointed just before his Retirement in April
Lt Gen Y K Joshi and Lt Gen Mohanty are retiring on 31 JAN
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NEW DELHI: Indian Army will soon get its new Vice Chief of Staff. The name of Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) MK Pande has been approved. The present Vice Chief Lt
Strategic Zoji La reopens ahead of schedule amid LAC tension | India News - Times of India
India News: With Indian soldiers remaining forward-deployed in the continuing 22-month-long military confrontation with China in eastern Ladakh, the BRO on Saturd
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
'Seemadarshan': Amit Shah Inaugurates Indo-Pak Border Viewing Point In Gujarat’s Nada Bet
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