Army rescues 300 more tourists stranded in North Sikkim

The Indian Army continued its rescue operation for the stranded tourists in North Sikkim after heavy rains lashed the state.

Gangtok:The Indian Army rescued 300 more tourists who were stranded in the North Sikkim district due to landslides and roadblocks, an official statement said. The troops of Striking Lion Division, Trishakti Corps on Sunday assisted 300 stranded tourists at Chungthang in North Sikkim to cross over the temporary bridge for further move towards the state capital Gangtok, it said.

The stranded tourists were provided food, resting place and medical comfort by the Army. On Saturday, the troops of the Trishakti Corps of the Indian Army assisted the Sikkim government in rescuing 3,500 tourists who were stranded in the North Sikkim district, the statement said.

The North Sikkim District Collector (DC) Hem Kumar Chettri on Sunday said that no fresh permits will be issued to tourists to visit the picturesque district in view of weather-related vagaries and restoration works underway for roads damaged extensively due to landslides even as all stranded tourists have been rescued.

The District Collector thanked the BRO, GREF, ITBP, Army and district officials for the successful evacuation of the tourists. "We have decided to not issue fresh permits to tourists to visit North Sikkim for the time being due to the restoration of roads underway between Mangan-Chungthang," he told PTI over the phone.

"Our immediate priority is to restore roads damaged due to landslides and heavy rains and once the road connectivity is restored then we will allow the tourists to come," Chettri said.

Heavy rains lashed North Sikkim on June 16. Troops of the Trishakti Corps, the Indian Army and personnel of the Border Roads Organisation swung into action and worked overnight amid heavy rains to facilitate the rescue of tourists. (PTI)