North Sikkim: Stranded tourists in Lachung now being evacuated in coordinated relief effort

LACHUNG (Sikkim): Stranded tourists in Lachung are now being actively evacuated through a coordinated effort involving the police, residents, forest personnel, and the Lachung Hotel Association.

Gyatso Lachungpa, president of the Lachung Hotel Association, is leading the evacuation operation on the ground with support from the local administration.

Responding swiftly to the situation, members of the Lachungpa community, particularly hotel owners, have taken personal responsibility for the safe evacuation of visitors. Locals are not only assisting with logistics but also actively carrying luggage and helping children navigate the terrain, ensuring that no one is left behind.

On Sunday, Mangan district Superintendent of Police Dechu Bhutia said that over a thousand tourists were stranded in Lachen and Lachung in Mangan District due to the rains inducing landslides, bridge collapse and damage along with a high rise of the River Teesta. He said the evacuation process had to be delayed due to the landslide on Friday in Shipgyer in Upper Dozongu. The Mangan SP assured that the evacuation of tourists will be carried out on Monday.

Further, damages to the base of the Phidang bridge have restricted vehicular movement to the Dzongu constituency. The GREF carried out the restoration work on Sunday, allowing residents and a few emergency service vehicles to commute on foot.

Multiple tourists are also reported missing, he said, “Our teams are working to locate them. The vehicle was visible two days prior, but now with the rising river level, the vehicle cannot be located… We could locate a few mobile phones and identity cards, which we kept in the police station, but no trace of the missing individuals. Something like a dead body was visible. The body is at such a location in the cliff that we could not see it either through the u or by crossing the river with a lifeboat.”

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on May 30 that as the depression over Bangladesh is likely to move nearly north-northeastwards and weaken into a well-marked low-pressure area during the next 12 hours, warning of very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall to continue in various regions.

For the next few days, IMD has forecast that rains will likely occur in most northeast regions on June 5, with no significant change in maximum temperature in various areas. (ANI)