Major mudslide blocks road connecting Lachung and Yumthang in North Sikkim amid heavy rains

PTI, May 15, 2025, Gangtok :  A major mudslide blocked the road connecting Lachung and Yumthang in North Sikkim in the early hours of Thursday, officials said.

    

Work is underway to clear the road, but heavy rains are disrupting it, they said.

No tourists are stuck in the area as the incident happened after tourists had left, they added.

The road connecting Chungthang with Lachung, which was blocked at various places due to landslides on Wednesday, was opened for traffic around 12 pm on Thursday, officials said.

As heavy rains were continuing, landslides might block the road again, they said, adding that BRO personnel were stationed at various points to clear the debris.

"We opened the road from Chungthang to Lachung this afternoon, but if the rains continue like this, we don't know how long it will remain open," an officer said.

The road connecting Chungthang with Lachen has been closed for over 20 days because of a massive landslide at Munsithang. People travelling from Lachen towards Chungthang are now using an alternative route, used by the Army, via Zero.

It takes an extra eight hours to reach Lachen from Chungthang through this alternative route.

At present, only the road connecting Chungthang with Gangtok via Sangkhalang is open, but it is also in a precarious condition as heavy rain has been continuing for days.