Army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, both on foot and in boats, have recovered 26 bodies, including those of seven Army men from the slush and debris of the flash flood which swept through Sikkim’s Teesta river, officials said October 6.
The flood which was triggered by a cloud burst in the early hours of Wednesday also resulted in a large number of people going missing.
Officials said 142 are still missing though some 2,413 people have been rescued and are in shelters.
CM announces ₹4 lakh ex-gratia to kin of deceased
Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang announced ex-gratia compensation of ₹4 lakh to the families of those who died in the flash flood. He also declared an immediate relief of ₹2,000 each to all those who are being sheltered in relief camps.
"There has been damage worth thousands of crores of rupees. We cannot give exact details about the damage, it will be revealed once a committee is formed and it completes its analysis. Our first priority is to save those who are stranded and provide them immediate relief," he told PTI.
"Road connectivity between districts has been cut off and bridges have been washed away. Communication in North Sikkim has been severely affected," Mr. Tamang said.
Of the 23 Army personnel who had gone missing from Bardang area, the bodies of seven have been recovered from different areas downstream while one had been rescued earlier.
Search for the rest of the personnel is continuing both in Sikkim and the neighbouring northern part of West Bengal through which the Teesta river flows, the Chief Minister said.
The Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) said in its latest bulletin that 25 people have died so far and 143 have gone missing.
While 15 people including six Army personnel died in Pakyong district, Mangan and Gangtok districts accounted for four and six deaths respectively, the SSDMA said.
Nearly 25,100 people have been affected by the calamity, it said.
The Chief Minister said that he has spoken with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, President Droupadi Murmu and other Union Ministers.
"They have assured me that all necessary assistance will be provided to the State," Mr. Tamang said.
Centre approves relief worth ₹44.8 crore
Mr. Shah has approved the release of ₹44.8 crore as an advance amount from the Central share of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to Sikkim to provide relief to flash flood-affected people.
Following a directive from Mr. Shah, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has formed an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), which will visit the affected areas of Sikkim soon to make an assessment of the damage caused due to a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), cloudburst, and flash floods, according to an official statement.
The flash flood in the Teesta river, triggered by the cloudburst in Lhonak Lake, caused an accumulation of a huge quantity of water, which turned towards Chungthang Dam destroying the power infrastructure before moving downstream in spate flooding towns and villages.
The flood destroyed 13 bridges in the State, with eight bridges getting washed away in Mangan district alone. Three bridges were destroyed in Gangtok and two in Namchi.
Chungthang town bore the brunt of the flood with 80% of it getting severely affected. The NH-10, considered the lifeline of the State, sustained extensive damage at several places.
Meanwhile, the search for the remaining 15 missing Army personnel is under way downstream near Teesta barrage.
At the site of the incident in Bardang, Army vehicles were dug out and stores were recovered, a defence release said, adding tracker dogs and special radars have been deployed in the search operations.
Surveys are being carried out by all agencies to assess the damage and plan restoration of road connectivity. The road link between Singtam and Bardang has been restored with the clearing of a single lane for vehicular traffic, the release said.
Mr. Tamang assured the evacuees of free medical treatment. For people from outside the State who wish to return home, he assured logistical support up to Siliguri, the largest city in northern West Bengal.
On the criticism from various quarters over the construction of hydel power projects in the fragile Himalayan mountain region, he blamed the “flawed and substandard” developmental models of the past governments for the disasters.
He also slammed the Opposition for indulging in politics over a natural calamity.
