A BRO vehicle negotiates the restored JN Marg at Kyongnosla near Chhangu on Friday. (Prabin Khaling)

Gangtok, Oct. 2: The Sikkim government has decided not to permit tourists on the earthquake-hit Jawaharlal Nehru Marg that leads to Chhangu Lake and Nathu-la until it is made safer for travellers.

The 52km JN Marg from Gangtok is the main road link to Sikkim’s tourist trinity: Chhangu, Baba Mandir and Nathu-la, the border pass at 14,400ft. The road is also used by army personnel posted in the forward areas on the India-China border.

More than 20 landslides, big and small, had blocked JN Marg after the September 18 earthquake that left 60 people dead. Fourteen of the dead were from East Sikkim, where Nathu-la and Chhangu are located. East Sikkim was most affected by the quake after North, the most picturesque of the state’s four districts.

Project Swastik of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) partially restored the road by September 29, allowing the army and the civilians in the six villages near Chhangu — located at 12,400ft — and above to replenish their stocks.

A Sikkim tourism department team along with local drivers and police had conducted a joint inspection on Friday to find out how safe JN Marg would be for tourist traffic to Nathu-la. Local villagers who depend on tourism for their livelihood have been insisting that visitors be allowed, considering the short duration of the October-November tourist season. The next peak season comes only in April.

“Since the safety of tourists is of paramount importance, the department of tourism and civil aviation along with the stakeholders and other concerned associations have decided to defer issuing permits to tourists visiting Nathu-la till the condition of the road is stabilised,” the tourism department said in a media release yesterday after going through the inspection team’s report.

“Although the road is open for the local people, it is not advisable to run heavy vehicles on it. JN Marg is still very fragile. There are several stretches with boulders hanging precariously above them. Moreover, movement of too many vehicles will hamper the restoration work by the BRO,” the media release said. The tourism department appealed to all stakeholders to co-operate till “further information”.

Tourism joint secretary Rinzim Chewang Bhutia said protecting tourists was the department’s top priority. “When it comes to the safety of tourists, we don’t want to take any chances. There are several stretches along the road that are very narrow, allowing only one-way traffic. On average during the peak seasons, more than 250 vehicles carrying tourists ply on JN Marg. Movement of vehicles could be affected at several places. Also, we don’t want to expose our tourists to the danger of falling boulders,” Bhutia said.

He said tourist traffic on JN Marg would not be allowed for the next few days. “It (ban) could last for a week. We may take a call after the Puja break,” Bhutia added.

He said the absence of tourists would give some “breathing space” to the BRO. “We must give some time to the BRO to work freely on the road. Their work will be hampered if vehicular movement increases,” Bhutia said.

Barring North Sikkim and Nathu-la in East, tourists are free to visit South and West districts, which too have “several beautiful places”, Bhutia said.