Sikkim has sufficient stock of essential commodities such as food items and fuel to meet the requirements of people during the monsoon season, a senior official said on Saturday.

The Himalayan state’s Food & Civil Supplies Department held a meeting with various agencies to assess the availability of essential items.

"As many as 36 godowns are well stocked with essential commodities and the general public need not worry about shortages of food grains, LPG and other petroleum products," Food & Civil Supplies Secretary Namrata Thapa said after the meeting.

Representatives of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), Transporters, Legal Metrology Unit, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, and officials from the Food and Civil Supplies Department attended the meeting.

Thapa said that in preparation for the monsoon season, the Food & Civil Supplies Department has been regularly conducting checks to ensure that essential items were well stocked in advance.

She instructed the FCI, IOCL, and the civil supplies officers of all districts to maintain rice stocks as well as petroleum products in the state’s food godowns and FCI & IOCL depots to deal with any unforeseen circumstances during the monsoon.

Referring to the disruption of normal life in Mangan district due to incessant rain and landslides, she said that essential supplies are being provided to affected areas through zip lines and trans-shipment until road connectivity is restored.

A zip line is a cable or rope stretched between two points of different heights, down which a person or materials can slide with the help of a suspended harness, pulley or handle.

Taking into account the closure of NH-10 for heavy vehicles at the moment, the Food & Civil Supplies Secretary said that the IOCL and other transporters have been directed to increase the number of transport vehicles to maintain stock levels.

It has also been decided to ration the supply of petroleum products in Mangan district to avoid panic buying and ensure sufficient stock, she said.

The local Food & Civil Supply officials are making constant visits to ensure stock availability to prevent panic among people.

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