BRO restores connectivity in North Sikkim, first batch of 50 tourists evacuated

The BRO cleared multiple slides along the Sanklang-Toong road, making it traffic-worthy for light vehicles.

After remaining cut off for a week, the Border Roads Organization (BRO) successfully restored connectivity in North Sikkim by overcoming challenging circumstances.

Following almost a week of heavy rainfall in Sikkim, there was a slight let up in the weather conditions today following which stranded tourists could be evacuated from floods and landslides ravaged North Sikkim.

The BRO evacuated the first batch of 50 stranded tourists from Chungthang to Mangan. The personnel of Project Swastik defied the odds of inclement weather, coordinating closely with state authorities to facilitate the road evacuation of tourists.

But this was only possible due to the relentless efforts of the BRO to clear numerous landslides on various roads in the Mangan district by deploying multiple heavy machineries and hundreds of laborers.

The BRO cleared multiple slides along the Sanklang-Toong road, making it traffic-worthy for light vehicles. Similarly, the road stretch between Naga and Lanthakhola on the Mangan-Chungthang road has been cleared thus enabling vehicular movement.

However, significant breaches at traditional slide points Lanthakhola and Rafangkhola have posed ongoing challenges. Heavy equipment has been deployed to restore vehicular connectivity across these points as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, a log bridge has been constructed to achieve foot connectivity across these breached areas.
The unprecedented heavy rains have caused multiple landslides and breaches on roads leading to North Sikkim, such as Dikchu-Sanklang-Toong, Mangan-Sanklang, Singtham-Rangrang, and Rangrang-Toong, severing connectivity to the region.

As a result, approximately 1200-1500 tourists are stranded in North Sikkim. The situation became particularly grave after the collapse of the newly constructed suspension bridge at Sanklang, which was the primary connection to North Sikkim and the Dzongu region.

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