The Sikkim government has raised serious concern over the frequent and prolonged closures of National Highway-10 (NH-10) — the state’s only major road link connecting it with the rest of the country. Officials said the repeated blockages are severely disrupting tourism, trade, and the daily movement of people, particularly during the current peak tourist season.
In a strongly worded letter to Samrat Sanyal, General Manager of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), C.S. Rao, Additional Chief Secretary of Sikkim’s Tourism and Civil Aviation Department, drew attention to what he described as a “growing inconvenience” caused by the repeated and often unplanned closures of NH-10.
“It is with concern that we note an increase in both the frequency and duration of road blockages and closures along NH-10 over the past year,” Rao wrote in his letter. He added that many of these shutdowns have been carried out without prior public notice and often for minor maintenance work, causing unnecessary hardship to residents and tourists alike.
NH-10, which runs through Siliguri in West Bengal to Gangtok in Sikkim, is not just a road but the lifeline of Sikkim’s economy, ensuring the movement of essential goods, tourists, and emergency supplies. Frequent disruptions have already hit the tourism sector hard, especially during October and November — months that usually bring the highest tourist footfall to Sikkim.