Sikkim Flood Toll Rises to 30, 81 Still Missing
Union Minister Visits Sikkim; Fresh Government Advisory Issued
The Teesta flash flood on October 4 resulted in a death toll that reached 30 on Saturday, according to the Sikkim government.
It further mentioned that 81 persons were still unaccounted for in Sikkim.
48 bodies have so far been discovered in the Teesta in Bengal's downstream Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts.
The Sikkim authorities published images of 42 bodies found in Jalpaiguri and CoochBehar on Saturday. Later, administrative representatives from both districts reported that six more bodies had been found.
According to the Sikkim government, the flash flood damaged at least 13 bridges and 1,500 homes.
For a total of 7,000 people, 30 relief camps are operating throughout Sikkim, according to a source.
Nearly 300 homes in Geilkhola, Rambhi, and Teesta Bazar were damaged, and the tragedy affected about 1,500 people in the Kalimpong district of Bengal.
In the district, seven relief camps have been established.
A minister travels to Sikkim
The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd., the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, the state government of Gangtok, and officials from the defense forces all met with Ajay Kumar Mishra, the Union minister of state for home affairs, when he arrived there on Saturday.
P.S. Tamang, the chief minister of Sikkim, was constantly in contact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, according to Mishra.
"The minister reported that top representatives from the central ministries of agriculture, road transportation and roads, Jal Shakti, energy, and finance had been assembled into a committee by the Center. From Sunday, it will travel to Sikkim, a source added.
On Saturday, Tamang arrived in Naga in the Mangan district and also visited the site of the Sankalang bridge that the Teesta had destroyed.
A Bailey bridge would be built, according to Tamang, to restore communication between Mangan and Dzongu.
A team led by Aroop Biswas, minister of Bengal power, and including Udayan Guha, minister of north Bengal development, Gautam Deb, mayor of Siliguri, and Ranjan Sarkar, deputy mayor, visited Teesta Bazar in Kalimpong and interacted with locals.
Anit Thapa, the head of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, paid a visit to the location earlier in the day and pledged to concentrate on reconstruction.
A new government warning issued in Sikkim warned residents not to take any of the explosives and munitions that the Teesta had washed from defense sites.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
