Central team leaves for Delhi after assessing situation in flood-hit Sikkim

The inter-ministerial central team led by Union ministry of home affairs joint secretary Anant Kishore Saran left for the national capital on Wednesday, having completed the assessment of the extent of damage caused by flash floods in Sikkim, an official said.

The central team members were seen off at the airport by relief commissioner-secretary, land revenue and disaster management department, Anil Raj Rai, and senior officers of the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA).

During their three-day visit, the central team was briefed by state chief secretary VB Pathak about large-scale damage to road infrastructure, telecommunications, displacement of people, and fatalities owing to flash floods in Teesta river basin areas in four districts following a cloudburst on Lhonak lake in north Sikkim on 4 October.

The central team had visited the disaster-affected areas in east and north Sikkim for first-hand information of the extent of damage inflicted by the flash floods.

On Tuesday, the central team had visited north Sikkim's Mangan, the worst-affected district with over 30,000 people hit by the flash floods. On Monday, members of the team had visited affected areas in Gangtok and Pakyong districts. Among the areas they visited were IBM, Rangpo, ATTC-Bardang, Golitar, Singtam, Dikchu and Phidang, where they assessed the damage caused to buildings, power lines, roads and bridges.

Based on their ground-level assessment of the situation, field visits and interaction with concerned authorities in Sikkim, they are likely to make recommendations to the Central government for financial assistance to carry out restoration and reconstruction of infrastructure, officials said.

A cloudburst in the Lhonak glacial lake led to the discharge of a huge quantity of water, which triggered a flash flood in the Teesta river, flooding towns and villages and affecting about 87,300 people.