KOLKATA, Oct 9: Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande completed a two-day visit to take stock of
flash-flood hit Sikkim on Monday, an official said.
He made an aerial survey of the affected areas on Sunday in the company of Eastern Army
Commander, Lt General Rana Pratap Kalita and GOC Trishakti Corps, Lt General VPS Kaushik, a
defence official said. “The Army chief interacted with the Chief Minister of Sikkim P S Tamang and
assured him of all assistance,” the official said in a statement. During the visit, he interacted with the
troops and commended them for the perseverance and dedication displayed during the challenging
time.General Pande also complimented the troops for maintaining high state of operational
readiness along the borders of the strategically important state, while the rescue and reconstruction
work was being carried out in the affected areas, the official said.
The north eastern state shares borders with China, Bhutan and Nepal.
Tamang held the review meeting with General Pande, state chief secretary V B Pathak and other
officials at his official residence in Gangtok on Monday where coordinated relief and rescue
operations along with armed forces were discussed. The Director General of Border Roads
Organisation (BRO) Lt Gen Raghu Srinivasan briefed Pande about the initial damage assessment and
plans for restoration of affected roads and bridges in the state.
A plan has been formulated for restoration of infrastructure after the DG BRO along with engineer
officers of Trishakti Corps undertook detailed ground reconnaissance over the past the few days and
a number of meetings were held with all agencies, the official said.
A statement by the Army said that the focus of the rescue and restoration operations is on restoring
connectivity with north Sikkim through Chungthang, which was the worst affected in the devastating
flood.
Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force has started rescue and relief operations in the Himalayan state.
Airlifting of the first batch of stranded tourists was carried out in Lachen to Mangan in north Sikkim,
officials said.
A total 77 tourists, including seven children, were airlifted from Lachung to Pakyong airport, they
said.
The toll in Sikkim’s flash flood has risen to 34, officials in the state said on Monday, while the
administration in adjoining northern West Bengal said that 40 bodies have been fished out from the
downstream of Teesta river. Officials, however, said that the figures reported by the two states will
have some duplication though they are keeping
each other informed of their respective rescue efforts.
Ten army jawans are among the flood victims and search is on for 105 people who are still missing.
(PTI)
