Mangan: As incessant rainfall that started in the state of Sikkim on June 12 continue to wreak havoc in the state, flash floods hasve turned normal life completely upside down especially in Mangan district. The Mangan district administration on Tuesday June 18, ordered the closure of all government schools in the district with immediate effect in a bid to ensure safety of students till the flood situation is under recedes. An order issued by District Magistrate Hem Kumar Chettri said, "government schools in Manul, Singhik, Mangan and Mangshilla clusters of Mangan block and Lingdong, Hee Gyathang, Passingdong, Lingzya, Tingvong and Gor clusters of Dzongu block will remain closed till further orders."
Meanwhile, process of evacuation of stranded tourists including national and international tourists is underway in full swing. As per All India Radio's post on X (formerly known as Twitter), "In Sikkim, Border Roads Organization and Mangan district administration today successfully rescued over 500 tourists stranded beyond Chungthang due to recent floods."
Watch video of tourists being evacuated by road here
Netizens meanwhile have showered heaps of praises on the concerned teams for timely action to tackle the flash floods in Sikkim. @cbdhage said, "The town of Chungthang , Sikkim cut off after flash flood , Indian Army build 200 ft steel Bridge in record 5 days to connect the town . It's kind of heavy and longest bridge. Salute to brave Army."
After the incessant rains and landslides in Sikkim had claimed nine lives and left 1,200-1,400 tourists stranded in the Mangan district. On January 17th, after initiating the process of evacuation by road and ruling out the option of airlifting, the first batch of 50 tourists were successfully shifted at safer places by evening. After the first batch of tourists was rescued, PRO, Guwahati, Ministry Of Defence, Govt of India had informed on X (formerly known as Twitter), and announced, "First batch of 50 stranded tourists evacuated from Chungthang to Mangan by BRO! Kudos to the brave personnel of Project Swastik for defying inclement weather and coordinating with State Authorities to ensure a safe road evacuation."
Evacuation of tourists underway
The evacuation process is underway in full swing and more tourists are likely to be evacuated and moved to safer places. As per a PTI reports, "Sixty-four tourists were evacuated from North Sikkim's Lachung on Monday and moved to Mangan town. The district administration had to set up log bridges over the slides to facilitate movement by foot and by vehicles where roads were motorable."
