By Syed Zarir Hussain, IANSÂ
Gangtok : Spurred by prospects of booming trade between India and China after the famed Silk Road was reopened last year, New Delhi is now planning to link the isolated north-eastern state of Sikkim to the country's railway network.
Three decades after Sikkim joined the Indian union in 1975, trains could chug along in the Himalayan state with the railway ministry giving the nod for a 52.7 km broad gauge track between Sevoke in West Bengal to Rangpo – the gateway to Sikkim.
The estimated cost for the project, likely to be included in the next rail budget, is pegged at about Rs.13 billion. Surveys for the project have been completed.
"It appears the government is not looking at Sikkim as a mere vacation hotspot. The rail links will give a boost to industrial, horticulture and floriculture activities in Sikkim, besides tourism being the biggest beneficiary," S.K. Sarda, president of the Sikkim Chamber of Commerce, told IANS.
The rail links would greatly cut down driving time from the nearest railhead of New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal – it takes about four hours by road to reach Gangtok.
"Now the drive from Rangpo to Gangtok will be smooth and take just about 90-odd minutes," Sarda said.
Sikkim has been in the limelight after trade reopened exactly one year ago across the 15,000-feet Nathu La Pass, 52 km east of Gangtok, as part of a broader rapprochement between India and China. The move marked the first direct trade link between the nuclear-armed neighbours since a bitter border war in 1962.
China has already begun construction of rail links between Tibet's capital Lhasa and Nathu La with the project expected to be completed in three years.
"It is essential that we on our part have rail links to Nathu La to match the Chinese capabilities and expertise," Sarda said. The trade body has asked New Delhi to have underground tunnels made from Gangtok to Yatung in Tibet – with both the towns located on similar altitudes.
"The tunnel distance between Gangtok and Yatung would be only around 20 km but the road link from Gangtok to Nathu La is 56 km and again 18 km from Nathu La to Yatung," Sarda pointed out.
"The Chinese can be asked to build the tunnel on their part and we can build the same in our territory. There is no shortage of technology in the world to build such a long tunnel."
Tibet's commerce department says bilateral trade last year through Nathu La totalled about $190,000. While about 900 Chinese traders crossed into India through the border marked by rusty barbed wire to the bazaar of Sherathang, 400 Indians headed to the Renqinggang market in Tibet.
Businessmen from both sides of the border are now seeking a broadening of the list of items traded through the Nathu La pass.
At present India imports 15 items from China including silk, yak pelts and horses, and exports 29 goods that include textiles, tea, rice, vegetables and herbs.
"When the trains start moving, earning money will be easier as communication here is one the biggest problems for transporting goods," said Pema Bhutia, a trader in Nathu La.