Gangtok,Aug25: Unrelenting rumours contending the Indian army plans to shut down civilian traffic from National Highway 31A for three days later this week to enable it to
Bring heavy vehicles, guns and artillery to Sikkim,have grown so pervasive that today the army top brass called on the State administration to reassure them that no such plans exist. The army does not intend to take over NH 31A for exclusive traffic , not now and not in the foreseeable future either.
As for the army presence in the border regions, these are expected to temporarily swell in light of what Sources informs to be an Out Post Alert Training Exercise.
As for the rumours, they were insistent that the highway would remain closed to Civilians on 28,29,30 August.
Today the General Officer Commanding,17 Mountains Division Major General Ravindra Singh Chopra ,himself dropped into the Tashiling Secretariat to clarify to senior government officials that no such plans to close down NH 31 A has been formulated by the army. He made a brief call on the Home Secretary as well as to Chief Secretary T.T.Dorji, both were conveyed that army would not be shutting down highway to the civilian traffic.
The fact that GOC himself made it up to the state Secretariat to meet government officials,says much about the level of alarm that had spread among the people on the news of the shut down. Even the government machinery was unsure of what actual facts were.
The reason behind the rumour was the reported move of the Indian army to bring in artillery and heavy equipments to Sikkim and the border areas here.The reasons circulated was the mounting tension along the border areas especially in the North Sikkim, between Dragon China and Elephant India.
This aspect of the rumour ,although no denied outright, has been dismissed as routine spat of the incidents in the forward areas. Transgressions are not rare and had in fact reportedly peaked last year and one incident reported last month.However, it also stressed that this was not an isolated incident and it has been confirmed by the various sources that minor irritants have been sprouting up in the border regions between world’s two largest armies.
