The Centre has sanctioned a sum of ₹338 crore for widening and upgradation of the road from Pedong to Lava in Kalimpong district.
The National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) has decided to upgrade the road into a two-lane with a paved shoulder through an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract.
In the EPC mode, the entire project is managed by one agency responsible for designing, procuring and constructing the project.
“On behalf of the people from Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Hon’ble Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi ji, and Hon’ble MoRTH Sh. Nitin Gadkari ji for allocating ₹338 crores for the expansion and widening of road connectivity between Pedong and Lava,” Darjeeling BJP MP Raju Bista’s written
statement read.
The 18km road is to be completed within 30 months from the start of work with a 60-month maintenance period.
The stretch witnesses heavy traffic when NH10, the road link for Sikkim with the rest of the country, gets disrupted.
“The people of Pedong, Lava and surrounding areas had to endure major problems this past monsoon….. Small road, and increased traffic had led to massive congestion and inconvenience to the people in this region,” stated Bista.
The Darjeeling legislator claimed that the Centre was addressing issues of the region one at a time.
“One by one, the development gaps of our region are being addressed (by the BJP-led Centre). I assure the people (here) that in a similar manner all the social and political issues confronting our region too will be resolved,” said Bista.
The BJP government is under pressure for failing to resolve the most important political issue of the Darjeeling region. The BJP had in its 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto promised a “permanent political solution (PPS)”, but without actually defining the term. Most residents, however, thought that it referred to the proposed state of Gorkhaland, which is a longstanding demand of the region. Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP did not raise the PPS issue.
Until now not much headway has been made by the Centre in resolving the political issue of Darjeeling.