Sikkim flash flood, triggered by a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in
North Sikkim on October 4, resulted in a flood like condition in the Teesta
River in Lachen Valley and hit around 60,870 people.
The flash flood in the Teesta River had affected over 60,000 people
in the mountain State. As of now, 105 people are missing, said sources in the
Sikkim Government.
“Twenty-eight relief camps are running in Sikkim and around 7,000
people are staying there. Over 2,700 people, who were stuck in different places
because of the disaster, have been rescued till today (Sunday),” said a source.
Chief Minister PS Tamang earlier met Ajay Kumar Mishra, the Union Minister
of State for Home who reached Sikkim to review the situation.
Later in the day, Mishra visited Naga, an affected area in Mangan
district. Tamang went to affected areas near Phidang bridge in Dikchu. The
Teesta has flown away 14 bridges, including the Phidang and Sankalang bridges
which connect Dikchu.
The CM talked with local people and appreciated their efforts to
install zip lines to ferry essential materials and goods.
“He allocated funds for houses which had been damaged and for the
construction of a bamboo bridge so that people can reach other locations of the
state from Dikchu and vice-versa,” said a source.
On Saturday evening, a stretch of NH10 between Melli and Rangpo was
opened. It will facilitate traffic from Rangpo to southern parts of Sikkim. However,
it will take time to restore the highway in Bengal as many stretches were
washed away by the Teesta.
In Bengal, 48 bodies were recovered till Saturday and 30 of them
were in Jalpaiguri district. With 10 more people being found dead in
Jalpaiguri, the Bengal toll reached 58 on Sunday.
Bengal ministers Aroop Biswas and Udayan Guha, along with Siliguri
mayor Gautam Deb and GTA chief executive Anit Thapa, visited Rangpo in
Kalimpong district on Sunday. They handed over relief items to people who were
staying at the relief camp.
“Chief Minister (Mamata Banerjee) is closely monitoring the
situation. All steps are being taken to help the affected people and normalise
communication facilities,” said Deb.
Jalpaiguri district police, along with the Indian Army, are
conducting operations along the banks of the Teesta to trace bodies, and
ammunition and explosives that were swept away by the river on October 4.
The searches will continue for a week, said sources. After the
flash flood, it was found that a section of villagers living on the river bank
had picked up mortar shells used by the army.
“The residents have been asked not to get into the river. The army
is using drones and radars to locate bodies and ammunition that might be buried
under the sludge,” said a police officer.
Meanwhile, former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia has
appealed to the sports fraternity of the country to host sports events, which
can be named “Play for Teesta”, and donate the collections to rebuild Sikkim.
“Sikkim is devastated by the disaster. More than 40 people have
died and over 1,000 people have been displaced. In this crisis, I would like to
appeal to sports lovers across the country to organise any sports event and
raise funds which can be used to help the affected people of Sikkim,” he said
in Siliguri.
Agencies
