Around 5,000 tourists, close to half of whom are from Bengal, faced inconveniences in Sikkim in the past couple of days as repeated bouts of torrential rain triggered landslides which in turn snapped road connectivity at different locations in the Himalayan state.

A section of the visitors, who were touring destinations like Mangan, Lachen, Lachung and Yumthang in north Sikkim and Pelling in the west, were left stranded as roads were blocked by debris.

Other tourists, who were visiting Gangtok, Namchi, Ravangla and other locations in south and east districts, had to cancel their sightseeing and travel for long hours to go down to Siliguri. Many of them missed their flights, trains and buses as vehicles moved on single flanks along a number of stretches of NH10, the principal highway that connects Sikkim with the rest of the country.

“A number of roads in north Sikkim, which connect popular destinations, were blocked as boulders rolled down hillsides. Stretches of roads were also washed away by the mud which descended with stones. Tourists were stuck in the region and had to wait till the road was cleared,” said Santanu Choudhury, who runs a travel house in Siliguri.

In the past three days, Sikkim, along with some sub-Himalayan districts of Bengal, experienced intense rainfall. Till Monday late evening, the administration and other agencies could not clear the roads and restore the damaged stretches at most locations as the downpour continued throughout the day.

Situation was a bit better for those who were visiting Gangtok, Namchi and Ravangla.

“They didn’t get stranded but had to cancel their sightseeing because of the inclement weather. Also, most of them had to travel for six-seven hours as vehicles moved in a single file along some of the stretches of NH10,” said Vivek Subba, a transporter based in the region.

As a result, many missed their flights, buses and trains.

Paramita Sanyal, who is from Barrackpore and was on a trip to Sikkim with her family, said she had been to the state earlier but had never seen such inclement weather conditions.

“We were in east Sikkim and were supposed to reach Siliguri on Sunday to take a train for Calcutta. But because of landslides, we could not reach the station on time. We had to scout for bus tickets but could not get them for the same day. Eventually, we took a bus yesterday (Monday) morning,” she said.

Sources in the travel industry said at least 5,000 tourists had faced inconveniences in the past few days because of adverse weather in Sikkim and half of them were from Bengal.

The situation has made the North Bengal State Transport Corporation run special buses between Siliguri and Calcutta.

“Around 11.45pm yesterday, we received a request from 45 passengers. An arrangement was made and a bus was operated by midnight,” said a source.

With such a situation, the Sikkim government has decided to stop issuing permits for tourists who wish to visit north Sikkim, citing safety and security reasons.

“The tourists have also been advised not to travel at night even if the road is open as there is a high chance of stones falling from a cliff or down a very steep slope. Rock fall is the fastest type of landslides and occurs frequently in north Sikkim mountains or other steep areas during continuous rainfall,” said an official.

Water supply to Sikkim capital Gangtok was affected on Tuesday because of blockage of the Ratey Chu, a stream which is the main water source for the city, following landslides in the past 48 hours.

Residents received water only for an hour in the morning and not for the usual two hours both in the morning and evening.

A source in the public health engineering (PHE) department said it would take a day or two for the regular water supply to resume.

Weather experts said inclement weather conditions were likely to persist for a couple of days.