Heavy rains trigger landslides in north Sikkim; more than 600 tourists rescued

 

Puja vacations are continuing in West Bengal and thousands of tourists visit the Himalayan state around this time of the year

More than 600 tourists were rescued from north Sikkim after heavy rainfall over the past five days triggered landslides at multiple places blocking roads to popular high-altitude tourist destinations.

“Three major landslides have been reported between Lachen and Gurudongmar Lake and between Lachung and Yumthang. We have stopped issuing permits to tourists to north Sikkim,” said AB Karki, district collector of Mangan.

Located at an altitude of 17,800 feet Gurudongmar Lake is one of the highest lakes in the world. The Tibetan (Chinese) border is just around five kilometres from the lake.

“Though the army, BRO, Sikkim police and district authorities were working overtime to open the roads for traffic, the roads are yet to be cleared. More than 600 tourists have been rescued and brought to safer locations like Chungthang,” he added.

Officials said that many more including dozens of bikers are still stranded in the high-altitude regions. Puja vacations are continuing in West Bengal and thousands of tourists visit the Himalayan state around this time of the year.

Officials said though the north Sikkim highway between Chungthang and Mangan, the district capital, is open there are multiple slides in between Mangan and Gangtok thus cutting off several places.

Darjeeling and Kalimpong hills in north Bengal have, however, received rain only in some places. The district administration of Darjeeling has advised people not to travel via National Highway 10 that connects Sikkim and Kalimpong with other parts of the country.

However, the National Highway 10 which is the lifeline of Sikkim and Kalimpong and is maintained by the PWD, West Bengal in between Coronation Bridge and Rangpo is all clear despite multiple landslides. Unlike in the past, the stretch of the National 10 between Cooronation Bridge and Rangpo which is the West Bengal-Sikkim border never remained closed for more than few hours this year despite many landslides blocking the road regularly. They were cleared immediately. The road which runs parallel to Teesta River is vulnerable to landslides.

People living near the bank of Teesta River are advised to keep close watch on the level of water and stay in safer places.

Earlier this week, the India Meteorological Department had issued a red alert for Sikkim and had warned that heavy to very heavy rainfall could hit the Himalayan state triggering landslides. An orange warning was issued for some districts in north Bengal including Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar.

Last week a flash flood in the River Mal in Jalpaiguri district in north Bengal killed eight people and injured at least 13 on the last day of the Durga Puja when immersion was going on.