Sikkim flash floods: As the death toll in the Sikkim floods climbed to 40, including 7 soldiers, Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang spoke with news platform NDTV and blamed the “inferior construction” of Chungthang Dam for the tragedy. The 1200 MW hydroelectric project was destroyed on Wednesday intensifying the damage due to the flash floods in the state. Prem Singh Tamang said that the previous Sikkim Democratic Front government should be blamed for the tragedy due their “sub-standard” work.
“Dam is fully damaged… washed out. 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 the previous government, the dam broke and even more floods hit Lower Sikkim with violence,” the Chief Minister told NDTV.
The Chief Minister said that the state government has approached the Central government to seek support in the relief efforts. Prem Singh Tamang spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and said the centre wants to airlift relief and rescue teams, but couldn’t due to the bad weather.
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3,000 tourists stuck
Prem Singh Tamang affirmed that the priority for the state government is to evacuate 3,000 stranded tourists in the state. The Chief Minister emphasized that this is a major disaster. “We will set up a team of technical experts and proceed based on their inputs. But, I have to tell you, this is a major disaster. It is major,” he said.
At least 40 people have lost their lives in the Sikkim flash floods while more than 100, including 15 Army personnel remain missing.
A sudden glacial lake outburst is termed as the possible triggering point for the flash floods and the state government has warned of another potential glacial lake outburst prompting the authorities to evacuate people from the nearby areas.
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Updated: 06 Oct 2023, 03:02 PM IST