No end in sight for Nau Mile drama

Project Swastik realizes that long span bridge is not feasible, so it’s back to drawing board to dream up another solution

The 9 Mile conundrum on National Highway 10 [erstwhile NH 31A], a few kilometers out of Ranipool, continues to confound the Border Roads Organisation. Efforts of the BRO to tame this slip zone remain Quixotic with fantastic solutions projected on paper and then thumbed down upon evaluation; as a result, the only work on site then remains the depositing of still more rubble and stone to raise the road after every sink. It was clearly this stopgap approach towards resolving Sikkim’s road connectivity woes that convinced the High Court of Sikkim to open a suo moto PIL against BRO and other concerned agencies to take stock of road conditions in the State. The situation at 9 Mile was part of this PIL, and little over a month back, Project Swastik, the Border Roads Organisation agency responsible for the national highway and other strategically important roads in Sikkim, had informed the High Court that it had submitted a proposal to span the 9 Mile sinking section with a “Long Span Bridge” to be commissioned under the SARDP-NE project. It now appears that this option has been rejected by experts. It is then back to square one at Nau Mile.
The Project Swastik submission on installing this ambitious long, single span steel bridge had come about after the High Court pulled up the DG, BRO and Project Swastik for their continuing delay in implementing a more durable solution for the 9 Mile troublespot. And now this. A a High Court hearing in follow-up to the submission that a long span bridge was being considered for 9 Mile, the Director, Project Swastik under Border Roads Organisation, reportedly informed the High Court that the proposed bridge across the sinking zone at 9 Mile has been deemed not feasible. Interestingly, against the 150 metre long bridge proposed by Project Swastik, the actual length of the sinking area has been established to be more than 300 mtrs!
The Ministry of Roads, Transport and Highways has reportedly submitted an affidavit with the High Court submitting that the “…earlier proposal of construction of a long span steel bridge at 9th Mile has been held not feasible, wherein it has been mentioned that looking to above situation, the ministry will initiate the proposal from the consultants to suggest the remedial measures and prepare a project report for the same to construct a bridge at km 77.65 [9th Mile] on Sevoke-Gangtok National Highway-10.”
Earlier, in follow-up to the Project Swastik project report for a long span bridge, the Regional Officer, Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways, keeping in mind the PIL pending in the Sikkim High Court, the strategic importance and likely start of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra from Sikkim, directed Project Swastik to go ahead with the second proposal of “short term measures by way of treatment of slopes with Geo Cell or Geo Web and sub surface drainage to arrest or minimize the sinking on experimental basis”. The Regional Office cited a similar case of a sinking area at 4.9 KM on Rangpo-Rorathang road which was treated with this Geo Cell concept and where the slope has been “performing satisfactorily” for the last two monsoons and is stable at present.
The Regional Office has also said that the approximate cost based on short term treatment of 9 Mile on will be Rs. 2.50 to 3 crores, adding that incase this concept was adopted, immediate sanction and implementation will be required as monsoon will be here in April next year, making road works difficult.
Sources inform that the single long span bridge option was not feasible because of site peculiarities and the findings of a detailed site inspection. They however add that the proposal of a bridge or cable-stayed bridge can be considered for technical feasibility study through consultancy services. These however are very expensive to construct and may take a few years to complete. Project Swastik, it appears, does not have specialization for construction of viaduct/ cable stayed bridges.
The High Court is clearly not taking the latest twist too lightly and has directed the Ministry to show how and why - when the Government was already aware of the matter [vide its letter dated 22 October last] – was a joint site inspection carried out on 01 November and on whose instructions, the two suggestions [proposal for 150 mtrs long single span bridge and short term measures including treatment of slopes and sub surface drainage ] contained in the affidavit were made to the government. The court has also sought all related documents in this regard.

BRO to span 9 Mile with long bridge

Project Swastik, the Border Roads Organisation agency responsible for the national highway and other strategically important roads of the State, has submitted a detailed report with the High Court of Sikkim on its proposal to span the 9 Mile troublespot [on NH 10 here near Ranipool] with a “Long Span Bridge” to be commissioned under the SARDP-NE project. The 9th Mile sinking zone has remained an unresolved nuisance on the highway, and forms part of the public interest litigation currently being heard by the High Court on the condition of roads in Sikkim.
The long span bridge option is a new proposal for this spot for which a two-kilomtre diversion was being considered earlier.
Director [Works], Project Swastik, VK Singh, has now come up with a new proposal of constructing a long span bridge across the sinking zone for which the Ministry of Defense and Road Surface will examine the DPR and accordingly approve.
The response from Project Swastik came about after the High Court pulled up the DG, BRO and Project Swastik for their continuing delay in implementing a more durable solution for the 9th Mile troublespot.
“It has also been indicated that there would be requirement of hydro mapping the area and also a detailed study for exploring the presence of hard strata below the flowing earth (sinking),” the Court has observed and directed that this process be completed within four weeks.
Senior Counsel Karma Thinlay appearing on behalf of the respondents [Project Swastik and DG, BRO] submitted that the aforesaid studies are required to be conducted by an expert agency for which necessary permission would be required.
The officers of Project Swastik have initiated the process seeking approval in principle for engagement of an expert agency to expedite the above studies, Mr. Thinlay submitted, adding that concurrence of the central body is still awaited [hence the 4 week time].
Tashi R. Barphungpa, Amicus Curiae on the PIL, objected on the submission made by the Standing Counsel of Central Government for granting four weeks time to get concurrence. He also requested the High Court to consider the urgency of the matter and direct quicker concurrence.
The Division Bench, after considering pleadings of both the counsels and the facts and circumstances of the case, granted four weeks time to resolve the issue.
The court has also observed that “…we hope and trust that the Central Body would take up the matter urgently and would resolve it at an early date.”

The Nau Mile Nautanki!

BLURB
…the geology of the area cannot be altered, but better engineering techniques can be used

A COMBINATION OF FACTORS FROM BAD GEOLOGY TO POOR ENGINEERING HAVE CREATED THIS TROUBLESPOT

The sinking highway at 9 Mile on the Ranipool-Singtam axis has been a nuisance ever since it was carved out. NOW! speaks to a geologist to understand what makes this such a troublespot and how it could be reformed…

“Landslides are like human beings, they come in different shapes, sizes and personalities and the 9th Mile slide is like an irritating person who has overstayed his welcome,” says Geologist and former Director, Mines and Geology Department, Tsering Tashi, while talking to Sikkim NOW!
It has been around 55 years since this stretch of road under Tumlabong-Namli in East Sikkim on NH10 [formerly NH31A] was made motorable when Jawaharlal Nehru came on a visit to the then Kingdom of Sikkim. However, as early as 1914, former Maharaja of Sikkim, Sidkeong Tulku is known to have used this road too where he would drive his Baby Austin to Teesta. Since then, the slide at 9th Mile has irked government agencies and commuters alike. Everyone knows how big 15 August in Kalimpong used to be, and old-timers will attest that whenever families moved out from Gangtok [for Kalimpong] early on the morning of 15 August, they would send up a collective prayer hoping that the 9 Mile section was open. The alternate route via Pakyong was too long and the wait at 9 Mile too depressing. Well, those days are back for commuters.
According to Mr Tashi, bad geology and surface and ground water are the main causes for the landslide [sink rather] at 9th Mile while the reasons for the inability to arrest this problem are completely different. Characterized by highly fragmented fragile rocks, 9th Mile comes under a subsidence zone and is actually only part of a landslide. Other contributing factors are the water fed paddy fields above the slide and continuous vehicular movement on the stretch which causes vibration.
One solution to the problem, Mr Tashi opines, is draining the surface water away from the sink. Since this stretch has a sagging central section, he suggests the technique of “arching” where the road is aligned in the shape of an inverted bow which would automatically drain water [away from the sinking area]. This, he says, would prevent any major damage for at least 10 years. The other alternative is ‘piling’, used in construction, where huge steel rods are inserted deep into the ground to reinforce stability.
“The geology of the area cannot be altered, but better engineering techniques can be used to solve the problem. Sadly in Sikkim, no engineering or science is used to tackle the problem of landslides,” he says.
In 2006-07, when Brigadier RK Patyal was the Chief Engineer of Border Roads Organisation, a serious attempt had been made to realign this road. However, sudden and routine transfer of BRO chiefs did not allow for any substantial improvements or changes to be made or consistently attempted.
“The first proposal to undertake arching at 9th Mile was placed before the National Highways Authority of India under the Ministry of Surface Transport during Brigadier Patyal’s time. It was rejected and a second proposal was put up. This time, things looked positive and the Chief Engineer of the NHAI even visited Sikkim. However, shortly after, Brigadier Patyal was transferred back to the BRO headquarters and was replaced by Brigadier Rajeev Sawhney who was also soon replaced by SS Powai”, he shares. And, in all these transfer orders, the proposal appears to have been forgotten.
Critical of the regular practice when it comes to handling the problem of landslides, Mr. Tashi is of the view that the application of a thumb-rule for every case does not make sense. “Every disease has to be treated differently and the same goes for landslides. We cannot prescribe the same medicine for all kinds of diseases,” he underlines.
In a state where landslides have claimed numerous lives apart from causing economic losses and inconveniencing the public, it is imperative that sincere and well-thought out attempts are made to address a problem that is rooted in the geological structure of the region. Mr Tashi thinks science and technology have all the answers, if only we choose to look there.

9 Mile acts up again and jams return to national highway

RANIPOOL, 04 August: For almost a fortnight now, commuters headed out of Gangtok on the National Highway invariably battle not just humidity and heat once they cross Ranipool, but also drive into a traffic snarl at the notorious trouble-spot of 9th Mile, which, like it does every monsoon, has sunk again.
Persistent rainfall and heavy traffic along the Gangtok-Singtam stretch has disrupted traffic to such an extent that jams last for almost an hour at times. Commuters and drivers alike have to face severe inconveniences with many deciding walk across the trouble-spot and catch vehicles on the other side.
Heavy rainfall is also making efficient road repairs and restoration works being conducted by the BRO difficult. Sikkim Police meanwhile monitors the ‘snail-paced’ movement of traffic at the stretch.
Traffic jams are reported to stretch as far down the road as Ranipool School, Namli Bhir and further upto 12 Mile towards Singtam. Similar traffic snarls are also reported from areas like Gaidhara where an alternate road work is being undertaken by the BRO.
With the persistent rains and the BRO having to manage more than five trouble spots along the Ranipool-Singtam road, work progress is slow and traffic jams are back on the highway.