200 stranded tourists evacuated from Sikkim’s landslide-hit Mangan district

PTC Web Desk: More than 200 tourists have been evacuated, while around 1,000 remain stranded in Lachung, located in Sikkim’s landslide-hit Mangan district, according to a senior police officer on Tuesday.

The evacuated tourists were moved via Chungthang to Mangan town, where the transport department arranged vehicles to transport them to Gangtok, said SP Sonam Detchu Bhutia. On Tuesday, 150 tourists were evacuated, following the 64 evacuated on Monday from North Sikkim’s Lachung to Mangan town.

The district administration, in collaboration with the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), State Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Response Force, and other volunteers, was working to move the stranded tourists to safer locations, Bhutia said. More evacuations are expected as the day progresses.

Officials said log bridges were constructed over landslides to facilitate foot and vehicle movement where roads were passable.

Incessant rains since June 12 have caused havoc in Sikkim’s Mangan, triggering multiple landslides and cutting off connectivity to most parts of the district. Road blockages at various locations have stranded around 1,200 tourists, officials reported. At least six persons have died in Sikkim due to landslides caused by heavy rainfall in recent days. The natural disaster has also damaged properties, disrupted power, mobile networks, and food supplies in several areas.

The situation worsened with the collapse of a newly constructed suspension bridge at Sanklang, which was the main connection to North Sikkim and Dzongu. In response to the disaster, the BRO launched restoration efforts, mobilising significant manpower and machinery to restore connectivity to North Sikkim as quickly as possible.