About 350 tourists still stranded in N Sikkim

340 stranded tourists were evacuated from Chungthang in a coordinated effort by the district administration, Sikkim police, ITBP and the Army

Amitava Banerjee | 14 Oct 2022 | DARJEELING: About 350 tourists are still stranded in North Sikkim. Efforts are on to evacuate them to Gangtok. 

On Wednesday, around 340 stranded tourists were evacuated from Chungthang in a coordinated effort by the district administration, Sikkim police, ITBP and the Army. Due to continuous rainfall road connectivity to Chungthang, Pegong, Lachung and Lachen has been disrupted in the past few days. There have been numerous landslides, blocking and damaging the roads. 

The stranded tourists of North Sikkim are housed at the Gurudwara in Chungthang. An army release on Thursday stated that on October 12 around 7am, the route from Chungthang to Lachung was blocked due to landslides at multiple locations. 

At a place 2km North of Chungthang, a massive landslide occurred resulting in 150 vehicles with 550 tourists getting stuck on both side of the landslide. This traffic kept piling up till 10 am due to lack of communication as mobile connectivity was disrupted. 

"Army camp at Lachung immediately got into the action on request of civil administration to provide all out assistance to tourists and locals stranded in the heavy rainfall and inclement weather conditions with freezing temperature," added the release. 

The Army provided immediate relief to stranded tourists by providing water, food and medical care to elderly persons and infant. Some of the critical tourists, shivering due to cold conditions were brought back to nearest Medical facility of the Army for further assistance. Border Road Organization worked relentlessly with the civil administration to clear the debris and open the route amidst continuing rainfall. 

By 6pm, all tourists were brought back to the safety of their respective hotels in Lachung without further delay. In the past also the Indian Army has been proactive in rescuing and evacuating tourists and local residents during such calamities. 

Though there is no further weather warning for Sikkim for the next five days, rains and thunder showers would continue in some places. 

 http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/about-350-tourists-still-stranded-in-n-sikkim-495843