Around 550 tourists were stuck in different areas of north Sikkim for around eight hours on Wednesday because of landslides caused by repeated bouts of torrential rain and were later rescued by the Indian Army.

Most of the visitors were shifted to Gangtok through trans-shipment vehicles on Thursday.

Around 7am on Wednesday, the route connecting Chungthang in the north with tourist destination Lachung was blocked because of landslides at multiple locations.

“At a place, which is around 2km north of Chungthang, a massive landslide occurred, following which around 150 vehicles carrying 550-odd tourists were left stranded at either point of the affected stretch,” said a source.

The traffic kept increasing till 10am as mobile connectivity was disrupted because of the heavy showers and communication couldn’t be made regarding the landslides.

Work in progress to clear a road damaged by landslide in north Sikkim. The Telegraph

Army personnel reached the spots to provide all kinds of assistance to the affected tourists and local people. The continues rainfall and freezing temperature added to the troubles faced by the stuck tourists.

“While the road was being cleared of the debris, some tourists started feeling uneasy because of traffic block and harsh weather conditions. The army provided them with water, food and medical care. Some of the critical tourists were shivering and brought to the nearest medical facility for further assistance,” the source said.

Around 4pm, almost eight hours after the tourists had been left stranded, the army assisted Sikkim police to regulate the traffic of more than 150 vehicles and by 6pm, all the visitors were brought to their respective hotels at Lachung.

On Thursday, the tourists were evacuated though Pegong to Gangtok in trans-shipment vehicles, which were arranged with the help of the stakeholders of the tourism industry.

“There are still some tourists who are stranded. In due course, attempts would be made to evacuate them,” said a source in the administration.

Since October 10, road connectivity has been disrupted at places like Pegong, Lachung and Lachen because of continuous rainfall in different parts of Chungthang subdivision.

Jaigaon

In Jaigaon, where Jharnajhora, a stream, had washed away a stretch of road and had also brought down debris which had partially buried some houses in Daragaon and Jharnabusty, the administration and the Jaigaon Development Authority took the task to clear the debris today.

Excavators were engaged to clear the pile of debris – sludge and stones – from the houses and adjoining areas.

“We are monitoring the situation and extending all help to the affected families,” said Ganga Prasad Sharma, the chairman of Jaigaon Development Authority.

The downpour continued across the sub-Himalayan north Bengal and Sikkim on Wednesday night and even on Thursday morning. Weather experts said similar weather conditions are likely to persist for another couple of days.