6 dead, 1,200 tourists stranded; BRO restoring roads after landslides and flashfloods in Sikkim

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJune 15, 2024

At least six persons were killed and as many as 1,200 tourists, including 15 foreign tourists were stuck in the Mangan district of Sikkim due to landslides and flashfloods following heavy rainfall on Saturday.

The rain-induced flashflood and landslides also damaged properties and disrupted road connectivity, power and food supplies and mobile networks in several places of the district.

“Around 1,200 domestic and 15 foreign tourists (Thailand:2, Nepal:3, Bangladesh:10) are stranded in Lachung, Mangan district, due to road blockages caused by heavy rainfall and landslides,” Sikkim tourism and civil aviation department’s principal secretary CS Rao said in an official statement

Sikkim chief minister Prem Singh Tamang chaired a high-level meeting in Mintokgang to take stock of the situation.

After a visit to the landslide-affected areas Tamang said in a post on X: “During my official visit to the landslide-stricken areas of Majhua, Yangang, in the Namchi District today, I had several key objectives: to assess the damage, oversee the disbursement of relief materials, and provide financial assistance to the affected residents.”

“To support the immediate and long-term needs of the affected families, I handed over cheques to the victims. The financial aid was categorized for immediate relief, covering emergency expenses and daily necessities,” Tamang said.

“I emphasized the government’s commitment to providing long-term support to the affected areas and outlined a multi-phase plan that includes infrastructure rehabilitation. My visit to Majhua, Yangang, was a significant step in addressing the immediate needs of the victims and laying the groundwork for long-term rehabilitation. The disbursement of relief materials and financial aid has provided much-needed support to the affected residents, and our commitment to ongoing assistance has instilled hope and confidence in the community,” Tamang also said.

“The government will continue to monitor the situation closely and ensure that all necessary resources are mobilized to aid in the recovery and rebuilding process,” Tamang added.

The office of the chief secretary has already initiated talks with the Centre for airlifting of all the tourists, depending on the weather conditions, Rao said

A senior official of the Border Road Organisation (BRO) said due to unprecedented heavy rains various roads leading to North Sikkim like Dikchu-Sanklang-Toong, Mangan-Sanklang, Singtham-Rangrang, Rangrang-Toong have experienced multiple heavy slides and formation breaches, resulting in severing of connectivity to North Sikkim.

“The situation became grave after the collapse of the newly constructed suspension bridge at Sanklang as the entire connectivity to North Sikkim and Dzongu region was through this bridge. Sensing the gravity of the situation, the brave workers of BRO accepted the challenges thrown by nature. Since the very first day, Project SWASTIK of BRO as first responder, swung into restoration efforts by mobilizing huge manpower and machinery to restore connectivity to North Sikkim at the earliest,” the official said.

“Heavy earth moving equipment has been deployed on Dikchu-Sanklang-Toong road to restore connectivity at the earliest. Approximately ten kilometres of road has been cleared from Toong side towards Sanklang. Similarly, BRO has deployed its heavy machinery and started clearing slides on Gangtok-Chungthnag road from Naga side,” he said.

“Connectivity between Naga to Lanthakhola has been restored. Efforts are being made by BRO to restore connectivity to North Sikkim via the recently constructed Modular bridge at Toong,” he added.

Project Swastik of BRO mobilized all its resources to carry out restoration work in Sikkim as part of Operation Mangan in addition to providing relief to disaster affected local populations and tourists in coordination with the state administration. BRO is working on plan to connect North Sikkim by restoring road from Dikchu to Sanklang to Theng Tunnel. Project Swastik has constructed a new bridge over Teesta River at Phidang, near Dikchu. The road from Rangrang to Mangan is with PWD, until it is repaired, no equipment of BRO can move to Mangan,” the BRO official further said.