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Around 1,500 tourists, along with approximately 169 vehicles and 79 bikes, are currently stranded in Sikkim's Lachen following the temporary closure of the Lachen axis due to a road breach near Tarum Chu Bridge.
According to the Mangan District Collector Anant Jain, the evacuation process has started today under the close coordination of the concerned authorities. However, due to the blockage on the Lachen-Chungthang road, tourists cannot be brought down through the usual route at present. As an alternative, the stranded tourists are planned to be evacuated through the Dongkya La Pass, which is located at an altitude of over 17,000 feet, and then moved towards Lachung and Gangtok. At present, snow clearance work is actively going on along the Dongkya La route to make the road safe and accessible for evacuation. According to the District Administration, Mangan, the Lachen axis has been temporarily closed due to a breach in road formation near Tarum Chu Bridge. The District Administration, along with Police, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), and the Indian Army, is actively coordinating efforts to ensure swift snow clearance and safe evacuation of tourists from Lachen, Dongkya La, Lachung to Gangtok. The state government said, all road agencies are working on a war footing to expedite snow clearance. It also urged all individuals to exercise caution, remain indoors as far as possible, and strictly follow instructions issued by local authorities. Earlier on March 25, another similar incident took place when around 150-200 tourists were left stranded in Chungthang after multiple landslides were triggered by heavy rainfall in North Sikkim, according to DC Anant Jain. Jain said the landslides occurred along key routes connecting Gangtok to Lachen and Chungthang to Lachen, leaving tourists en route to Lachen stuck at Chungthang. (ANI)
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