Sikkim floods: BRO personnel swept away by Rel Khola river, death toll due to floods mounts to 10

The death toll due to devastating floods and landslides in Sikkim has mounted to 10, with one more death reported today.

As per inputs, a 30-year-old man was swept away by the strong currents of the Rel Khola River due to incessant rains.

The deceased has been identified as Dil Kumar Chettri, a personnel of Border Roads Organisation (BRO). He was a resident of Singtam in North Sikkim.

As per the latest report, over 10,000 people in the tiny village of Dzongu in Mangan subdivision of North Sikkim district have been affected by the flood.

Located in the foothills of the Himalayas, Dzongu was hit by floods and landslides on June 10. Even after almost 1 month, Dzongu remains totally cut off from the rest of the state and the country.

Almost all rivers in the state including Teesta River are flowing above danger level.

Moreover, multiple sections of National Highway 10, the only highway connecting Sikkim with rest of the country is also completely cut off at several locations due to rain-triggered landslides.

Earlier in the week, Sikkim Lok Sabha MP Indra Hang Subba raised the issue in the parliament and urged the Centre to urgently hand over the maintenance and upgradation of the highway to NHIDCL.

Indra Hang Subba said that the NH-10 stretches from Sevoke to Rangpo also falls under West Bengal’s jurisdiction and because of the poor maintenance of the stretch from the West Bengal side, Sikkim ended up bearing the brunt.

Though BRO is continuously working on improving connectivity to the North Sikkim and Dzongu area and has successfully erected a Bailey bridge with the assistance of army engineers, several other key bridges connecting the 10,000 people are yet to be restored.