The Indian Army troops of Trishakti Corps, in collaboration with the Border Roads Organization (BRO), have successfully completed the construction of a Bailey bridge over the Teesta River at Chungthang in North Sikkim. This crucial infrastructure was washed away after a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in the Lhonak Lake upstream, severing the connection between North Sikkim and the mainland on October 3.

The bridge, which serves as the life line for Lachen and Lachung Valley in North Sikkim, will now pave the way for seamless movement of vehicles and provision of relief material to these flood affected areas, a release from ministry of defence said.

The BRO initially constructed the concrete abutments followed by the bridge construction by Trishakti Sappers that took around five days. Engineer Troops of the Trishakti Corps and BRO along with several heavy Earth Moving plants were employed for this bridging operation.

“While the World around celebrates, troops of #TrishaktiCorps continue to #RebuildAndReconstruct. Another Bailey Bridge over Teesta being constructed by the Engineers of #IndianArmy along with BRO to reconnect areas cut off during #GLOF. The launch operations commenced on 10th Nov. Showcasing Indian Army’s motto of ‘Service Before Self’ & professionalism, the troops are working 24/7. The construction of the 200 feet long bridge will be completed soon,” the Trishakti Corps said on Tuesday in its post on X.

The bridge was re-inaugurated by state minister of roads and bridges, Samdup Lepcha, in presence of officials of Indian Army, BRO and the civil administration.

The 200-feet long bridge is an engineering marvel in itself as it is the longest and heaviest single span Bailey bridge that can be launched.

Earlier on November 9, the Trishakti Corps and officials from telecom company Airtel restored communication networks in the Lachen Valley of Sikkim.