The very repairs meant to improve connectivity on NH10 which connects Sikkim with the rest of the country threatens to derail Sikkim’s tourism during the peak season.

It is a paradox that underscores the fragile relationship between infrastructure and the tourism industry.

A 52-kilometre stretch of NH10 from Sevoke in Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim was handed over from Bengal’s PWD (highway division) to the National Highway & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) in December 2024.

There were allegations that Bengal’s PWD had failed to adequately maintain
the highway.

The NHIDCL is a fully owned company of the Union ministry of road transport and highways.

After taking charge of NH10, the NHIDCL recently notified that the highway would remain closed for traffic intermittently for six days in two phases to carry out repair and protection work at different locations.

“The 52km-long stretch of NH10 will remain closed to traffic intermittently from May 9 to 11 and again from May 13 to 15 as certain repairs have to be carried out. The decision has been made to ensure that such works are carried out ahead of the monsoons. That is why vehicles will be allowed to move in phases, that is, after a gap of every two hours, from 5am to 7pm during these days,” said a source.

The Sikkim Hotel and Restaurant Association (SHRA) has approached their state government requesting that the schedule for repairs be revisited.

The SHRA in its memorandum to the district collector, Gangtok, has stated that the repair schedule had resulted in “significant cancellations” to the industry during the ongoing tourist season.

“With the onset of the tourist season in Sikkim, the unpredictable and uncoordinated closures of NH10 have resulted in significant cancellation and financial losses for tourism stakeholders in the state,” Sradha Sharma, the president of the SHRA, stated in the memorandum.

The association has demanded that the repair either be conducted during night hours to minimise disruption or be rescheduled during non-peak tourism months.

Sikkim tourism was hit hard after the glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in October 2023. The industry is still affected by the infrastructure damage done by GLOF in north Sikkim, a region which is a major tourist attraction in the Himalayan state.

“Sikkim registered a decent footfall in April this year, a year and a half after the GLOF. However, the intermittent closure of the highway in May does not augur well for the industry,” said a hotelier from Gangtok.

The disruption in Sikkim tourism is impacting the flow of tourists in Darjeeling.

“This is because many prefer to cover the Darjeeling-Sikkim circuit together,” said Kapil Hinduja, the managing director of Muscatel Hotels and Resorts.

A hotel industry source stated that the NH10, when under the control of Bengal’s PWD division, had also been restricted from May 6 to 9 last year. “The traffic restriction last May had hit Sikkim’s tourism industry,” the source added.

Peak tourist season in the Darjeeling-Sikkim region starts from April-mid-May and lasts till the Pujas, said sources.