SUMMIT REPORT, Gangtok 12 Feb:
Citizen Action Party-Sikkim has expressed deep concern and dismay over the collapse of the Sankalang Bailey Bridge in Dzongu, and alleged that completion of the bridge was rushed for the sake of the Chief Minister’s visit to Namprikdang and that this led to cutting corners which compromised quality. As a result, the bridge did not last even two months, having been inaugurated only on 01 Jan, 2025.
The Sankalang Bridge, it may be recalled, was swept away by the Teesta Flood of 03-04 Oct, 2023. The bailey bridge lost yesterday, was thrown across the river in the valley since the Teesta is running low at this time. It collapsed yesterday under the weight of a truck crossing it.
The CAP press release issued by the party’s Mangan district president, Jorbu Tshering Lepcha, states that the “untimely collapse of the bridge raises serious questions about the quality of construction, poor execution, and hurried completion, which appears to have been rushed for the sake of the Chief Minister’s visit to Namprikdang.”
“The urgency in construction, rather than ensuring long-term durability and safety, has resulted in a major infrastructural failure that will have severe repercussions for the residents of Upper Dzongu and the entire North Sikkim region,” the release adds, while demanding that the project be investigated and accountability fixed.
