Darjeeling: Darjeeling MP Raju Bista on Thursday announced that the tender process for the long-awaited alternative to the iconic Coronation Bridge will be initiated within December 2025, paving the way for the start of construction soon after.
The proposed alternative bridge—linking Ellenbari to Sevoke—has been a longstanding demand of residents across the Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars.
Although the Union government had sanctioned Rs 1,190 crore for the project, progress had stalled for years because of jurisdictional complications, alleged Bista. “The stretch originally fell under the West Bengal PWD–National Highway division. It has now been officially transferred to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), clearing the way for work to begin,” stated Bista.
Bista said he recently met NHAI officials and inspected the Coronation Bridge site. Officials informed him that the new bridge and its approach road would form part of a larger infrastructure blueprint, including the Siliguri Ring Road and the proposed Siliguri–Gorakhpur Expressway. Work on the Ring Road, he added, is also steadily progressing.
“While the larger plan is being executed in phases, the tender for the alternative bridge and approach road will begin in December and construction will commence immediately after,” Bista said.
The welfare organisations are, however, apprehensive whether the assurance will translate into action. “It has been our longstanding demand but we want results and not just assurances. We definitely welcome any positive development on this front,” stated Padmashree Karimul Haque of the Bike-Ambulance fame, while talking to Millennium Post.
Chandan Ray of The Dooars Forum for Social Reforms added: “Before the last Assembly elections, Union Home minister Amit Shah, from an election campaign in Nagrakata had assured of a second bridge and even announced its name, Bir Chila Roy bridge.
Five years have passed yet the second bridge has not come up. We don’t want this announcement to be just a pre-election assurance with the Assembly election round the corner.”
The strategically-important Coronation Bridge connecting the districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Dooars to Assam was built to commemorate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937 and was commissioned in 1941. The bridge is fragile with damaged pillars and cracks appearing after the 2011 earthquake. Vehicles carrying weight upto 10 tons are only allowed on the bridge. A new bridge would significantly reduce the pressure on the ageing structure.