Bengal tourists among 1,400 stranded in north Sikkim after key bridge collapse
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Kalimpong: Close to 1,400 tourists, most of them from Bengal, are stranded in North Sikkim after parts of the Phidang Bridge collapsed. The bridge, which serves as the main entry point to parts of North Sikkim, including Dzongu, is now closed to vehicular traffic.
As a result, close to 250 vehicles have found themselves trapped in the northern district, most of them in Lachung and Lachen.
All of the tourists are, however, safe and staying in their hotels, authorities confirmed. "As many as 1,276 domestic tourists and two foreign tourists are trapped in Lachung and 112 domestic tourists and four foreign tourists are stranded in Lachen. We will try to evacuate them tomorrow once the road is restored," said Mangan SP Sonam Detchu Bhutia on Sunday.
Roads that are blocked due to landslides will be cleared by this evening, hopes the district administration.
"The evacuation work will hopefully begin from Monday morning," said Sonam Norgay Lachungpa, vice president in charge of Sikkim Tourism.
Tourist agents in Darjeeling have been receiving SOS calls from several Bengali tourists, urging them to send more vehicles to Sikkim and bring back those stranded. There have also been reports of spikes in fares.
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"There are three different roads between Sikkim and Siliguri. If the usual route gets blocked due to a landslide, drivers take a longer route, leading to higher fares. We have appealed to all driver associations not to increase the fares drastically," said Pradeep Lama, general secretary of Darjeeling Association of Travel Agents.
This comes amid continuing search operations for eight missing tourists and a driver after their vehicle fell into the Teesta on May 29.
Rescue efforts have been affected by incessant rainfall in North Sikkim. The river has swollen by at least four inches and has altered its course, SP Bhutia said, making the searches more difficult. Sikkim continues to have yellow and orange rainfall warnings. Sources, however, said authorities had recovered four ID cards and six mobile phones near the accident site.
Meanwhile, Sikkim forest minister Phintso Namgyal Lepcha called for stricter regulations. "Tours and travels, along with drivers, should take precautions, especially when the weather is bad. Tourists are our guests. They come here to see the beauty of Sikkim, but because of our carelessness, they are losing their lives," he said, adding that the movement of vehicles should be restricted after 3pm in North Sikkim.
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