Sikkim MP holds meeting with officials to assess damages, coordinate relief activities following landslides

Gangtok (Sikkim) [India], June 19 : With heavy rains lashing Sikkim and triggering landslides in several places Sikkim Lok Sabha MP Indra Hang Subba held a meeting with officials of General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) and Border Road Organisation (BRO)to access the destruction and coordinate relief activities.
The meeting by the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) MP was held on Tuesday.
Over the past week, landslides have left at least nine people dead and 1,200-1,400 tourists stranded in the Mangan district.
Meanwhile, Troops from the Trishakti Corps of the Indian Army, along with the civil administration, undertook the rescue of tourists stranded in North Sikkim according to a statement by the Indian Army.

The evacuation of over 1200 tourists stranded in North Sikkim between June 12-13 had commenced on June 17. Due to the large number of landslides, tourists are being moved on foot and by vehicle in stretches wherever connectivity exists, the Army said
Working under challenging weather and terrain conditions, the signallers of the Indian Army helped BSNL and Airtel restore mobile connectivity on June 18, it said.
Since June 12, the Indian Army said it had installed more than half a dozen telephone booths to facilitate locals and tourists connecting with their relatives
Medical teams have set up medical aid booths and have been providing medical care to needy residents and tourists.
So far, more than 115 people have been provided with medical attention, including a lifesaving emergency distress call of a 24-year-old at Lachung suffering from High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, it said.
All the needy people have been provided with the basic requirements of rations and other logistics support to sustain themselves in this critical time, it added further.
As per official estimates, a total of nine people -three from Yangang and six from Mangan have been killed since June 12.