The Sikkim government on Thursday issued an advisory for tourists seeking to visit the Himalayan state to postpone their trip, and simultaneously, put in efforts to evacuate tourists stranded in flash floods triggered by Tuesday night’s cloudburst.

“All tourists planning to visit Sikkim are advised to postpone their travel to a later date after the situation normalises,” said the advisory issued by the state tourism and civil aviation department.

Sources said although the festive tourist season usually peaks in mid-October in north Bengal and Sikkim, there was a decent number of tourists in the Himalayan state at the start of the month.

“That is why around 2,000 tourists got stranded in Sikkim as the flash flood snapped direct road connectivity to the state. Those who were in Gangtok, Namchi or in the western parts of Sikkim started moving out from today (Thursday), taking alternative routes to reach Siliguri. However, there are some stuck in Mangan district. They are facing problems as the area is completely cut off and roads have been washed away,” said Raj Basu, the adviser to the Sikkim tourism department.

Those associated with the tourism industry, both in north Bengal and Sikkim, said now they were focusing on the evacuation of the tourists.

In Sikkim, the state has issued a circular, requesting all stakeholders, including hoteliers, travel agents, cab owners and drivers, to extend all necessary help to tourists and keep charges reasonable in this hour of crisis.

“In Sikkim, a number of hotels and homestays are also offering free accommodation to stranded tourists. We appreciate this gesture during this difficult time,” said Basu.

On Thursday afternoon, V.B. Pathak, the chief secretary of Sikkim, said they planned to evacuate or airlift the tourists stuck in north Sikkim.

“We have spoken with officials of the army and Indian Air Force. Choppers are ready and those will fly to places in northern parts of Sikkim tomorrow (Friday), provided the weather remains fine. To reduce the time of sorties, it has been decided that tourists would be picked up from Lachen, Lachung and Chungthang and will be dropped off at Mangan (district headquarters) instead of Gangtok. From Mangan, they will move via road to their destinations,” said Pathak.

The tourists in these places are safe, sources said. Some have spoken with their families with the help of the army that arranged emergency telecom facilities. Flash floods had hit telecom network in Mangan district.

The tourist advisory apart, the Sikkim government also decided to stop issuing permits to tourists for Tsomgo (Chhangu) Lake, Baba Mandir and Nathu la, popular destinations in Gangtok district.

“Those who want to cancel their trips (to Sikkim) are being offered alternative destinations. If they accept the new itineraries and yet visit this region, it would help the tourism industry here recover some loss incurred,” said Samrat Sanyal, the general secretary of Himalayan Hospitality and Tourism Development Network.

8 tourists missing

Eight persons, including four children of a family of Birbhum district’s Illambazar who went to Sikkim as tourists, went missing on Tuesday night when the cloudburst occurred.

Their relatives lodged a missing complaint with Birbhum police on Thursday evening.

The family started for Sikkim from Bolpur on October 1. They boarded a hotel in Nachen of South Sikkim on Monday.

“We could not contact anyone over the phone from Tuesday night onwards. We are really worried. We have requested the police here to talk to the Sikkim government and gather information on their whereabouts,” said Md Mahafuz Rahaman, a relative of the missing tourists.