Altogether 2,464 stranded tourists were rescued from North Sikkim after they were stuck in Lachen and Lachung areas following a massive landslip triggered by heavy rain, officials said. The landslip at Pegong-Chungthang caused a road blockade, disrupting vehicular traffic in the region, they said.
In a day-long rescue operation launched jointly by officials of Chungthang Sub-Division, the General Reserve Engineer Force and members of the local panchayat, 2,413 individuals, who were stranded in the area, were successfully rescued on Saturday.
The landslip had occurred in the early hours of Friday, leaving the residents of Pegong-Chungthang areas and tourists stranded and they were in desperate need of assistance, an official said.
All the stranded tourists were taken to the Sikkim capital Gangtok in vehicles arranged by the State government, another official said.
The swift action taken by the authorities under the supervision of Roads & Bridges Minister Samdup Lepcha ended later in the day, following the rescue of all the tourists, he said.
The authorities arranged for medical teams to provide immediate attention to the stranded tourists, ensuring their well-being throughout the evacuation process.
In addition to the rescue operation, the GREF committed to the local people that a new bridge would be constructed within a short period, which would be the lifeline to the residents of Pegong-Chungthang areas and would prevent such incidents of isolation during times of emergency.
No fresh permits to be issued
The North Sikkim District Collector (DC) Hem Kumar Chettri on Sunday said that no fresh permits will be issued to tourists to visit the picturesque district in view of weather-related vagaries and restoration works underway for roads damaged extensively due to landslips .
He said that the evacuation of all 2,464 tourists stranded following torrential downpour for three days was completed on Saturday evening.
All tourists and 60 students of Namchi College have left for their respective destinations by vehicles arranged by the authorities, the North Sikkim DC said.
He thanked the BRO, GREF, ITBP, Army and district officials for the successful evacuation of the tourists "We have decided to not issue fresh permits to the tourists to visit North Sikkim for the time being due to the restoration of roads underway between Mangan Chungthang," he told PTI over the phone.
"Our immediate priority is to restore roads damaged due to landslides and heavy rains and once the road connectivity is restored then we will allow the tourists to come," Mr. Chettri said.
