BRO restores road connectivity from Rafangkhola to Lanthakhola in North Sikkim

Gangtok, Jun 26 (PTI) The Border Roads Organization (BRO) has successfully restored road connectivity from Rafangkhola to Lanthakhola on the Mangang-Chungthan road in North Sikkim, which have been affected by heavy rain and landslides leading to the death of six people earlier this month.

A BRO statement on Wednesday said this road has become traffic-worthy for heavy vehicles till Naga and works are in progress to restore connectivity up to Chungthang which is the main axis of the road network in North Sikkim.

"Despite heavy rains and inclement weather conditions, BRO has successfully restored road connectivity from Rafangkhola and Lanthakhola on Mangang-Chungthang road," the statement said.

The BRO is also working simultaneously to restore connectivity to North Sikkim's Dzongu region via an alternate route - Dikchu-Sanklang-Toong.

The major challenge along this alternate route was a huge formation breach at Dett Khola bridge and to overcome this bottleneck, the BRO constructed massive abutments and later, in coordination with the Army rolled out a 70-foot Bailey bridge.

North Sikkim’s Mangan district was lashed by torrential rains on June 13 snapping road links and communication infrastructure. As a result, around 1,500 tourists had been stranded for almost a week. PTI KDK RG