Gangtok: Although over 2,300 tourists from Lachen and Lachung villages of North Sikkim were evacuated by Saturday evening, over 238 tourist vehicles and around 20 trucks remain stuck at the other end of the Pegong landslide.
The tourist vehicles and trucks are camped at Chungthang ground, along with their drivers who refused to leave the vehicles behind. While 30 vehicles moved on Tuesday, more could cross Pegong today.
Truck driver Ram Kumar who was on his way to Lachung on June 15, has been stuck in Chungthang since the road got blocked. He shared, “I managed to reach Pegong around 7:30 am the next day, but the road was already closed.”
“I have been here for five days now and need to reach Mangan town. There are 8-9 trucks and 300-400 smaller vehicles stuck on the other end. If it rains further, then there could be more landslides,” he added.
Kumar informed that most stranded drivers are sleeping in their vehicles but few have left their vehicles and returned home. He also said that initially, they bought food from local restaurants, but now a Gurudwara nearby is providing them with food.
Mangan District Magistrate Hem Kumar Chettri informed that restoration would be completed in three days for the temporary transition. He shared, “It was raining on Friday, so we couldn’t do much. After a district-level meeting in Mangan, we started the rescue operation the next day (Saturday).”
Early Saturday morning, the Army, Border Roads Organization and Indo-Tibetan Border Police constructed a makeshift log bridge over a stream, a few metres below the landslide spot, he said.
Chettri further said that when the rescue team started evacuating people, the state administration intervened and sent 20 buses and 200 smaller vehicles to ferry the tourists back to Gangtok. “By Saturday evening, we had evacuated all the tourists,” he added.
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Regarding the stranded vehicles, he asserted, “Within the next 3 days the BRO will be able to construct a temporary road connecting Chungthang with Pegong, and then we will evacuate those vehicles.”
Speaking about recurring landslides at Pegong, Chettri shared, “The BRO will construct a Bailey bridge to connect the road. That will take time as they will need to construct an abetment which will take 20-25 days. We will apprise of the higher authorities about the permanent solution, as once it rainsm the temporary road will again get washed out. The road is maintained by BRO, who have to make that decision.”
Stressing that the villages of Lachung, Lachen and Chungthang have enough ration for the next 15 days, the DC assured they would assure essential commodities.
In terms of medical emergencies, the DC informed, “Chungthang has Primary Health Centre while ITBP has a hospital so medical emergencies are being looked after. In case there is a serious emergency we will be carrying them.”
Highlighting the recurring nature of the Pegong landslide, Chungthang GPU Panchayat President Diki Lecpha informed, “The landslide recurs every 10-15 years. In 2012, the landslide was devastating.” The main source of drinking water for Chungthang passes through Pegong has also been disrupted.
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Lepcha said drinking water for Chungthang passes through Pegong and the landslide has disrupted the water supply. He informed that a smaller source close to Chungthang is currently supplying drinking water.
Emphasising the risk of landslides in Pegong, Lepcha explained that sometimes during heavy rainfall water flows down big rocks situated high up on hills and leads to landslides. He added, “It may stop for a few years now, but we are certain this landslide in Pegong will happen again. We have placed demands for a steel bridge without touching the Pegong stream, that would solve the woes of the people.”
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