First motorable road from Sikkim to Nepal being developed through Uttarey

ANAND OBEROI
GANGTOK, 18 April: Sikkim’s border with Nepal in West district, a traditional highway of sorts in the days of past, will now be spanned with a link road across Chewa-Bhanjhyang above Uttarey in West Sikkim. When this project, already in an advanced stage from either side, is completed, it will become the first motorable road from Sikkim into Nepal.
The road, it is learnt, is being constructed by both countries from their respective sides. While construction on the Sikkim side is still in its initial stages, the road on the Nepal side is almost complete, having reached 2.5 km off the Sikkim border. While there may be some strategic reasons for the construction of such a permanent link, the road is also being seen as one which will facilitate tourism in a big way in the form of making trekking easier and appeal to international tourists as well.
On the Sikkim side, the last hamlet en route to the pass is Uttarey, about 12 km from the border. The final 12 km span is being constructed under the Border Area Development Programme (BADP).
The pass is a much frequented one with people from either side crossing over frequently. It is not uncommon from youth from Sikkim to even travel into Nepal during festivals to participate in village level sports events there. This traditional linkage has been hampered to some extent with SSB having replaced SAP at the pass, but the bond remain close. The pass also straddles the Singalila trek along the border and Uttarey has developed as an important trekking launch point in the recent years.
While Uttarey is accessible only on foot from the pass, three large excavators have been on the job at the route for the past three months, scratching out an alignment for a motorable road to replace the trekking trail.
The road on the Nepal side, it is informed, has already reached Chanpathuk, the Nepal army check post which is around 2 kilometers from Chewa Bhanjhyang and has a population of around 1,500 people, mostly Nepal army personnel stationed there. It is also informed that the road construction has already crossed Torkey village which is 5 kilometers just a couple of days back.
The West Sikkim District Collector, Santa Pradhan informs that the proposal for the road from Uttarey to Chewa Bhangyang was sanctioned around five months back and that work on it has already been commissioned and is under progress.
The DC informs that since the only route to Chewa Bhangyang and other “incredible tourist locations” like Kalijhar and Phoktey Dara along the Singalila range is a trekking trail, there is a section of national and international tourists who can never get to experience the beauty of this area because of the 12 kilometer steep uphill trek which they cannot negotiate.
“With the development of the motorable road, the number of tourists to these areas will grow because of the convenient accessibility. Work is underway but there are still some issues that need to be worked out for the road to be completed, the importance of this strategic location cannot be ruled out which is also why the road is being constructed,” informs the DC.

Forest clearance holds up progress on Sikkim side
GANGTOK, 20 April: Bureaucratic red tape is reportedly proving to be a hindrance in the progress of the Sikim-Nepal road project. As of now only 5 kilometers of road from Sotakha to Chewa Bhangyang via Jorebhotey has been constructed. Forest Clearance is the cause of the delay for the development of the remaining 13 kilometers, it is informed.
Speaking to NOW! , SE, Roads & Bridges Department, Mr. Subba informed that 13 kilometers of the road will have to be constructed through the Kanchenjunga Biosphere Wildlife sanctuary for which the clearance is yet to come from the department.
“A majority of the road falls inside the sanctuary, the clearance for which is causing the delay. We are hopeful though that the clearance will come through after which we will begin construction from our side of the border. I know it will take time but we have already submitted all relevant documents and our proposal,” stated Mr. Subba.
Meanwhile, the road coming up from the Nepal side is expected to be completed within a week. What worries the Uttarey residents is that if the Nepal side reaches the pass much ahead of them, they will have that much more time to take the lead in promoting the locations for tourism and get exclusive access to interested travellers.