GANGTOK, Oct 11: The Inter-Ministerial Central Team led by
joint secretary, Ministry of home affairs, Anant Kishore Saran
on Wednesday left for the national capital after completing
the assessment of the extent of damage caused by flash
floods in Sikkim, an official said.
The central team members were seen off at the airport by
the relief commissioner-cum-secretary, land revenue and
disaster management department, Anil Raj Rai, and senior
officers of the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority
(SSDMA).
During their three-day visit, the central team was briefed by
chief secretary V B Pathak about large-scale damage to road
infrastructure, telecommunication network, displacement of
people and fatalities due to flash floods in Teesta river basin
areas in four districts following a cloudburst on Lhonak lake
in North Sikkim on October 4.
The Central team had visited the disaster-affected areas in
East and North Sikkim for a first-hand information of the
extent of damage inflicted by flash floods.
On Tuesday the central team had visited North Sikkim’s
Mangan district the worst flood-affected district with over
30,000 people affected by the flash flood in the district.
Members of the central team on Monday had visited the
affected areas in Gangtok, Pakyong district. Among the areas
they visited were IBM, Rangpo, ATTC-Bardang, Golitar,
Singtam, Dikchu and Phidang where they assessed the
damage caused to buildings, power lines, roads and bridges.
Based on their ground-level assessment of the situation, field
visits and interaction with concerned authorities in Sikkim,
they are likely to make recommendations to the Central
government for financial assistance to carry out restoration
and reconstruction of infrastructure in Sikkim, officials said.
A cloudburst in the Lhonak glacial lake led to the discharge of
a huge quantity of water, which triggered a flash flood in the
Teesta river, flooding towns and villages and affecting about
87,300 people. (PTI)
