Dzongu’s Ring Khola bridge too dilapidated to be safe anymore

MANGAN, 07 June: The Ring Khola Bridge which connects Lower and Upper Dzongu in North Sikkim is now in such ruinous condition that it can no longer be considered safe for vehicular traffic. Unfortunately, it also sits on the only road open to North Sikkim at present and is receiving even more traffic. The iron plates and nut bolts on the bridge have loosened and it is not advisable for loaded vehicles to cross the bridge.
The Dzongu road has been an alternate route for vehicles plying to North Sikkim as traffic at Rangang gets disrupted very often. Owing to the road block at Rangrang, this bridge had been bearing excess traffic of vehicles.
The condition of the bridge has now become so delicate that Police personnel from Bringbong and Sangkalang Check Posts had to be deployed at both ends of the bridge to ensure that vehicles crossing the bridge were not carrying even passengers. All the commuters are being made to disembark and cross the bridge on foot after which the driver allowed through to risk a crossover. Needless to add, this cannot be a permanent solution.
What is worse, on one end of the bridge is the risk of shooting rocks and boulders from a landslide triggered by last year’s earthquake which had claimed a mother and her son at the spot.
Some maintenance work is being undertaken by the BRO under whose jurisdiction the bridge falls, and some iron plates have been replaced. However, complete replacement of the bridge is what urgently required.
Several other bridges in Dzongu like Maney Khola bridge, Tareng Khola bridge and Dett Khola bridge also require replacement with new structures.