GANGTOK, Oct 8: More than 3,000 tourists are stranded in
Lachen and Lachung in Mangan district of Sikkim after flash
flood hit the area and cut off all road communications are
safe on Saturday, officials said.
The Indian Air Force made multiple attempts to carry out
rescue and relief operations by Mi-17 helicopters but was
unable to fly from Bagdogra as well as Chaten due to the
inclement weather, low-lying cloud cover and low visibility
conditions in the Lachen and Lachung valley, they said.
The roads to Lachen and Lachung are damaged. An
alternative route to Chungthang via Dzongu is in the process
of being opened for the rescue teams to move forward.
Teesta Urja has also provided a chopper for the rescue of
tourists and the supply of essential commodities to the
Chungtang area.
An ITBP team that reached the area is carrying out relief and
rescue in Chungthang at the moment, officials said.
The India Meteorological Department in a weather forecast
with respect to Mangan district said light to moderate rain is
likely to occur at most places in the district over the next five
days.
The IMD has also forecasted generally cloudy to overcast sky
in Lachen and Lachung for the next five days.
NDRF teams here along with state agencies are busy with
rescue operations in areas such as Singtam, Bardang and
Rangpo. However, rescue teams have not been able to reach
the upper reaches of North Sikkim, Chungthang, Lachen and
Lachung.
However, small teams of state agencies with senior
government officers have trekked from Mangan to
Chungthang and are accessing the damage and providing
much-needed information to the state government.
More rescue teams like the India Reserve Battalion personnel
from Mangan are on their way to Chungthang on Saturday.
Chungthang bore the brunt of the flash flood in Teesta river.
Rescue teams that have already reached Chungthang have
informed that almost 80 per cent of Chungthang town has
suffered damage in flash flood.
A cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim in the early
hours of Wednesday triggered the flash flood in the Teesta
river in which 27 people including eight Army men were
killed and 141 people missing.
More than 1,200 houses were damaged in the flash flood
which also washed away 13 bridges in the picturesque
Himalayan state. (PTI)
