Sikkim CM announces Rs 4L ex-gratia to kin of deceased
Darjeeling: Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang announced ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased in the flash flood.
As per Sikkim government figures, the death toll in the Sikkim flash flood has risen to 26 with 142 still missing. A total of 2413 people have been rescued as of Friday’s SSDMA report. A total of 27 bodies have been recovered from different locations along the Teesta River in the Jalpaiguri Sadar, Mainaguri and Malbazar in the Jalpaiguri district of Bengal.
In the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) region of Bengal, the death toll stands at one with 11 missing.
The Sikkim Urja Limited, the hydroproject at Chungthang in North Sikkim, the dam of which was washed away by the Teesta on Wednesday, announced a relief package of Rs 25 crore for the Mangan district, Sikkim after discussion with Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang. The amount will be spent in tranches through Mangan District Local Area Development Committee informed Sunil Saraogi, Executive Chairman, Sikkim Urja. Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister blamed “sub standard construction” of dams for the tragedy.
Union Home minister Amit Shah approved Rs 45 crore as an advance amount as a relief to flood ravaged Sikkim. An Inter Ministerial Central Team has also been constituted to review the situation in Sikkim. The team will be visiting ground zero to assess the damages.
“Damages are to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees. Only after assessment can we give the exact figures. There are no roads between districts. 13 bridges have been washed away on the river Teesta. There is no connectivity with North Sikkim. Large stretches of the road have been washed away in North Sikkim along with villages. The priority now is relief and rescue. Relief in three phases: temporary, mid and permanent relief,” added Chief Minister Tamang.
V B Pathak, Chief Secretary, Government of Sikkim, convened a meeting with Lt. General Raghu Srinivasan, Director General, Border Roads Organisation (DG, BRO), Dy GoC 17 Mountain Division and other officers of BRO and the Army on Friday to discuss the restoration of road connectivity in Mangan district, especially to Chungthang.
The meeting deliberated upon devising a strategy for an alternative temporary road from Naga to Chungthang at the earliest. The BRO would be submitting the plan and starting work immediately.
As per information received from IAF, multiple attempts to carry out rescue and relief operations by Mi-17 helicopters were unsuccessful on Friday as the deployed helicopters were unable to fly from Bagdogra as well as Chaten due to the inclement weather, low-lying cloud cover and low visibility conditions in the valleys of Lachen and Lachung. The aerial rescue operations are expected to resume early Saturday if weather conditions improve.
It was also informed that Sikkim Urja will be providing a helicopter for 15 days to assist in the rescue operations.
