Dzongu cut-off as bridge damage closes Phedang route

BIJOY GURUNG

GANGTOK, : Entire Dzongu is again cut-off from rest of State following subsidence of a key bridge near Phedang on Thursday.

As per reports, the bridge over a small rivulet above Phedang in Lower Dzongu has bent and developed cracks. Authorities promptly declared the bridge unsafe for vehicular movement and closed it till restoration works are done.

BRO Project Swastik officials inform that it will take some days to restore the bridge. Till then, vehicles exiting from Dzongu and stranded at Phedang would have to wait.

This particular bridge was one of the oldest in the area and a crucial link connecting Dzongu to Phedang bridge and then to rest of State. Phedangbridge, near Dikchu, serves as the gateway to Lower Dzongu.

In present times, Phedang provides the sole road connectivity to entire Dzongu following the collapse of a suspension bailey bridge at Sangkhalang, the main entry point in Upper Dzongu near Mangan town, on February 11.

Subsequently, the existing bamboo bridge at Sangkhalang was repaired and strengthened in a week’s time to provide pedestrian movement to and fro Dzongu. This bamboo bridge is used to cross the Teesta River and then take vehicles waiting on the either side.

Sangkhalang is about 20 minutes away from Mangan town.

Works are also going to restore the suspension bailey bridge at Sangkhalang so there is a permanent road access to Upper Dzongu. The particular bridge had been reconstructed and reopened on January 1 after the previous structure was destroyed during the October 2023 Teesta flash flood.

Beyond Sangkhalang, three GPUs in Upper Dzongu have suffered prolonged bouts of connectivity issues after the Mantam landslides of August 2016.

Vehicular transport to Tingvom and SakyongPentong GPUs is possible only during winter when the river level has decreased enough to allow installation of a temporary bailey bridge. Once monsoon clouds start gathering, the bailey bridge is removed and the Upper Dzongu villagers have to depend on the Mantam foot bridge and transhipment for the rest of the year.

Works for constructing a permanent steel bridge at Mantam to connect the stranded Upper Dzongu villages have been inordinately delayed due to various reasons.

Pic: The Phedang route is closed after a key bridge suffered subsidence and cracks.