Gangtok: The death toll in Sikkim flash floods followed by Lhonak Lake burst and complete destruction of Chungthang hydropower dam has jumped to 40.
As many as 7 army men are among the dead while many others are still untraceable in one of the worst disasters in the region in 50 years, officials said.
According to reports, thousands of people are still stranded even as the Indian Army is carrying out round the clock the rescue operations.
"Around 3,000 people are stranded in Lachen and Lachung. 3,150 people who have gone there on motorcycles are also stuck due to the floods. We will evacuate all with helicopters of Army and Air Force," NDTV quoted Sikkim Chief Secretary, Vijay Bhushan Pathak, as saying.
The flash flood in the Teesta River, triggered by the cloudburst in Lhonak Lake on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, caused the accumulation of huge quantities of water, which turned towards Chungthang Dam, destroying the power infrastructure before moving downstream in spate, flooding towns and villages.
Teesta River, one of the most dammed rivers in India. The 1200 MW power project on Teesta suffered a major setback when the Chungthang Dam was washed away in barely 10 minutes.
Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang has raised serious questions on the construction quality of the Chungthang hydropower dam and said the destruction in the affected area was more because of the damaged dam than the cloudburst.
"Dam is fully damaged and washed away. Disaster in the lower belt is because of this. Yes, there was a cloudburst and the Lhonak Lake burst, But, because of inferior and sub-standard construction by previous government, the dam broke and even more floods hit Lower Sikkim with violence," the Chief Minister said. “The damage to properties was more because the collapsed dam”, he told media.
"Dam is fully damaged and washed away. Disaster in the lower belt is because of this. Yes, there was a cloudburst and the Lhonak Lake burst, But, because of inferior and sub-standard construction by previous government, the dam broke and even more floods hit Lower Sikkim with violence," the Chief Minister said.
“The damage to properties was more because the collapsed dam”, he told media.
Besides collapse of the Chungthang hydropower dam, there are reports of damages to 13 bridges in the state that included 08 in Mangan district, 02 in Namchi, and 03 in Gangtok.
Out of 23 missing army personnel , 1 has been found alive & under treatment7 dead bodies has been retrieved so far & remaining 15 are still missing#Sikkim pic.twitter.com/17wONRtzl5— Weatherman Shubham (@shubhamtorres09) October 6, 2023
Out of 23 missing army personnel , 1 has been found alive & under treatment7 dead bodies has been retrieved so far & remaining 15 are still missing#Sikkim pic.twitter.com/17wONRtzl5
So far, 2,411 people have been evacuated and accommodated at relief camps, while the calamity has affected over 22,000 people, the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) said in its latest bulletin.
A study by an international team of researchers had warned two year ago that the South Lhonak lake in Sikkim may burst in the future and significantly impact the downstream region, according to the news agency PTI.
Scientists and government authorities were working on an early warning system for glacial floods at the now damaged Lhonak Lake’s and the first part of the system, a camera to monitor the lake’s level and weather instruments, was installed last month, officials involved in the project told Reuters.
If fully operational, the warning system could have given people more time to evacuate.
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