Darjeeling: The Kalimpong district administration has issued prohibitory orders restricting the halting on the Loop bridge at Bagrakote along the National Highway 717A connecting Bengal with Sikkim.
The order also prohibits taking selfies/reels on the under-construction bridge, only allowing vehicles to pass through without stopping. The bridge has been drawing a huge number of visitors making it accident-prone with construction work still on.
The order dated January 13 issued by T Balasubramanian, District Magistrate (DM), Kalimpong, stated that the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) had written to the district administration requesting temporary restriction for stoppage of vehicles/diversion of movement on the Loop Pool along NH717A under Kalimpong district for construction and upgradation of the road by NHIDCL.
In response, the order issued by the DM “... restrict any stoppage of all type of vehicles and will be allowed only to pass through from 6 am of January 14, 2026, until further orders to ensure the safety of the general public and residents of the adjoining areas as construction work is still going on.”
“Necessary restrictions from 500m before Loop Pool to 500m after Loop Pool along NH717A shall be imposed by Police (traffic) for facilitating the restriction order,” it stated.
The new NH717-A, spanning over 200 kilometres from Bagrakot to Sikkim, includes a winding mountain road that serves as an alternative route to Sikkim. Among its attractions is a loop bridge in the Kalimpong hills, constructed on a 41-meter-high pillar.
Although the bridge is still under construction, it has already drawn large crowds of tourists eager to view the scenic route, despite the lack of safety measures.