Sikkim cut off, Army joins rescue effort

Rohit Khanna,TNN | Jul 3, 2015, KOLKATA: National Highway 10 — the lifeline to Sikkim — has been breached in three sections, cutting off the Himalayan state from the rest of the country. With stocks of essential supplies dwindling, rationing may be enforced in two-three days. 

At Seti Jhora, 7km from Coronation Bridge that joins Darjeeling with Jalpaiguri, a 200m stretch of the highway has vanished. The landslide has buried an excavator under a mountain of stones and mud. Another area 3km closer to the bridge is also affected. Border Roads Organization says it will take two more days to clear just one flank. Heavy equipment has been brought from Gangtok. "It will be difficult to meet the deadline if it rains heavily," said a BRO official. 

With the roads blocked, scores of tourists are stranded in Sikkim. Although, heavy-rain warnings were issued a few days back, tourists kept coming. Sikkim tourism minister Ugyen T Gyatso said some tourists are taking the Rohini route to reach Siliguri. "Some of them have availed of the helicopter services from Gangtok," he said. 

There are three routes apart from NH10 that link Gangtok with the plains — via lava, Rohini-Kurseong-Lopchu and via Pankhabari. While the route through Lava takes very long, the Rohini route has become unstable due to landslides. The only route left for supplies to reach Gangtok is via Pankhabari-Kurseong-Lopchu, which takes more than six hours in the best of times. 

Sikkim is already feeling the pinch. Fuel, food and other essentials are in short supply because the state is completely dependent on supplies hauled in by trucks from the plains. There is no airport or rail head to bail out Sikkim. Local residents are praying for a quick repair of the NH10 breaches. 

The Army has moved in to add muscle to rescue and relief in landslide-hit Darjeeling and flood-ravaged Jalpaiguri. On Thursday, Eastern Command announced that two task forces — four teams of 60 soldiers each — have been deployed since Wednesday evening at Matia Char in Mainaguri block, Uttar Padmavati and Mal subdivision. Each team has medics, engineers and signalers. 

A team of 45 Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel has been working tirelessly since Thursday morning in Mirik. Due to heavy rain on Thursday, SSB's Siliguri Frontier HQ at Ranidanga could not get in touch with the team. 

"They are completely cut off. We are trying to contact the officers on their mobile phones but this isn't possible. On Wednesday, the team had rushed to Limbugaon village in Mirik, which is the worst affected. They have recovered 15 bodies. Locals say 19 others are missing and the SB men are continuing to look for them," said K M Cariappa, publicity officer, SSB, Siliguri Frontier.