Gangtok, June 16: The Sikkim government today sent SOS messages to the Centre and the Bengal government to ensure that the national highway connecting the hill state with the rest of the country was not blocked because of the Darjeeling turmoil.

State chief secretary N.D. Chingapa followed up chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling’s letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by appealing to the Union cabinet secretary and the Bengal chief secretary and home secretary to ensure that NH 31A, the lifeline to the state, is kept open.

“It is imperative that the highway is kept open for ess- ential commodities and ser- vices to reach us,” Chingapa said. “Our chief minister has written to the Prime Minister and I have appealed to the Bengal government so that our state is not choked by an agitation in another state.”

Chingapa hinted that if the bandh continued and the situation in the state became “unmanageable”, Sikkim would seek army deployment to clear the blockades that the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters had threatened to set up.

“As of now, it is still not an option,” an official said.

As part of the “emergency measures” to meet “any eventuality” that may occur during the Morcha’s indefinite bandh, the Sikkim food and civil supplies department has been asked to ration petrol and LPG and stock up essential foodgrain.

“We have done a reasonable amount of stocking up, but that of course cannot last forever,” a senior official said. “In the last few days, as the bandh was relaxed in the Darjeeling hills, we procured as much as possible. We do hope that the bandh does not stretch so long that our stocks get exhausted. In any case, we expect the Centre and the Bengal government to ensure that NH31A is kept open,” he added.

The Sikkim government has asked its district officials to keep in touch with their counterparts in Darjeeling and Siliguri. Chingapa said: “There has to be proper co-ordination between the governments… from the chief ministers’ office to the district magistrates, everyone should be involved in averting a crisis caused by the bandh.”

Morcha leaders had made it clear yesterday that they were “using” the “Sikkim factor” to push the Centre into calling them for talks. Morcha chief Bimal Gurung had told a rally in Kalimpong subdivision that the highway would be blocked until Sikkim spoke up on Gorkhaland.

In March, the Sikkim Assembly had adopted a resolution demanding compensation from the Bengal government and the Centre for the frequent hold-ups on the highway.