Bengal tourists evacuated from landslide-hit Lachen

Darjeeling: Over 1,300 tourists, most from Bengal, and 84 local residents, who were stranded in North Sikkim's Lachen after a landslide damaged a key stretch of road near Tarum Chu Bridge, were evacuated by the Army's Trishakti Corps under Eastern Command on Thursday.The landslide had disrupted the Chungthang-Lachen route, prompting the district administration to suspend all vehicular movement in the area. Authorities have also announced indefinite closure of Lachen until further notice.Defence PRO Guwahati Lt Col Mahendra Rawat said the evacuation was completed within 48 hours despite adverse weather conditions. "The evacuation was conducted in a phased manner. All 1,321 tourists and 84 local residents were evacuated along with 32 light vehicles and 10 bikes. Connectivity in the affected area was temporarily restored with the construction of a footbridge, enabling people to cross damaged stretches of the Lachen-Chungthang road," Rawat said.He said reception centres were set up at key points to provide food, shelter and medical assistance to evacuees. Medical teams were deployed on the ground while Army vehicles helped tow civilian vehicles across difficult terrain.The operation was conducted in close coordination with the civil administration and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which worked on road clearance, snow removal and restoring connectivity."The evacuation was carried out under ‘Operation Him Setu' led by Trishakti Corps, and the situation continues to be monitored," he added.Mangan district collector-cum-magistrate Anant Jain said the Lachen axis has been temporarily closed due to damage to the road."The evacuation process has been completed but the road will remain closed for tourists until further notice," he said.