New Delhi:
At least 53 people, including seven soldiers, have died in the flash floods in Sikkim. Another 27 dead bodies have been found in the Teesta riverbed in neighboring West Bengal in the past three days. Seven of these bodies have been identified.
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More than 140 people are still missing and thousands have been displaced. The Sikkim government has reported that 1,173 houses have been severely damaged and 2,413 people have been rescued. All bridges downstream to the Teesta-V hydroelectric power station have been submerged or washed away, disrupting communications with North Sikkim.
Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang yesterday chaired a high-level meeting to chalk out rescue, relief and recovery strategies. Priority has been given to opening the road link to Chungthang while the road from Naga to Toong will be constructed at the earliest depending on the availability of land. A compensation of Rs 4 lakh has been announced for the families of the victims.
Sikkim authorities are prioritizing reopening of road link to Chungthang and construction of road from Naga to Toong, subject to land availability. During the day, officers from various departments met the Chief Secretary to apprise him of the status of road connectivity, relief and rehabilitation, and rescue operations.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast light to moderate rainfall at most places in Mangan district over the next five days, with generally cloudy to cloudy skies in Lachen and Lachung. This makes it a challenge to transport more than 3,000 stranded tourists.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has reported that multiple attempts to conduct rescue and relief operations using Mi-17 helicopters over the past two days have been unsuccessful due to poor weather, low cloud cover and poor visibility in the Lachen and Lachung Valleys. . Aerial rescue operations are expected to resume early today, weather permitting.
Flash floods have ravaged the northeastern state, affecting more than 25,000 people, damaging nearly 1,200 homes and destroying 13 bridges. Rescue workers have so far rescued 2,413 people, but 6,875 people are still displaced and sheltering in 22 shelter camps across the state, which is largely cut off from the rest of the country.
A glacial lake outburst caused flash floods and released water from the Chungthang dam, drastically increasing the water level of the Teesta river on Wednesday morning, causing widespread destruction in the picturesque Himalayan state.
“The road links between the districts have been cut off and bridges have been washed away. Communications in North Sikkim have been seriously affected,” Chief Minister Tamang said, blaming the “inferior construction” of previous state governments for the destruction of the Chungthang dam.
On Friday, DailyExpertNews learned that a parliamentary committee had identified a serious shortage of meteorological and monitoring stations in the Himalayan regions. On March 29, Sikkim was told in Parliament that it has 694 glacial lakes and eight flood forecasting stations, three for water levels and five for inflows.
Home Minister Amit Shah has given advance approval for the release of Rs 44.8 crore from the central part of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to provide relief to people affected by the floods. The Ministry of Home Affairs has also formed an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) to visit the affected areas and assess the damage.
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