Alternative road to quake-hit Mangan opened

Sushanta Talukdar

Source: The Hindu  

THE HINDU A woman helps the Army and General Reserve Engineer Force personnel to clear the road leading to Mangan at Bitu village, 10 km away from Gangtok town, on Tuesday. Photo: Ritu Raj Konwar

Even as the 67-km long Gangtok-Mangan road that leads to Mangan, the headquarters of North Sikkim district, the epi-centre of Sunday's devastating earthquake, has still remained blocked for the third consecutive day, the Army and Border Roads Organisations have opened an alternative road via Singtam and Dikchu to reach out to the worst hit people and areas of the state.

Sikkim Director General of Police told The Hindu that National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were on their way to Mangan via this alternative route. The death toll in Sikkim in the earthquake has gone up to 50, he said.

The Army and GREF personnel are working round-the-clock to clear huge rocks and debris that blocked the access to Mangan via Sikkim-Mangan road at Bitu village point, about 10 km from Gangtok town. Explosives were used to blast rocks and excavators deployed to clear the debris. The road is expected to be cleared by Tuesday evening. People trying to access Mangan through this road got stuck up and are now awaiting the road to open. For the anxious residents of Mangan, who have not been able to speak to their relatives and hence not aware of the extent of damage that might have occurred, the day only seemed to be much longer.

Cracks have appeared at several locations along the National Highway 31 A, the lifeline of Sikkim, on which all the vehicles to and fro Gangtok ply. The Army and GREF personnel could be seen clearing blockades at several locations of this busy road. The blockades added to the traffic snarl on the highway since morning. Cracks could also be seen in several buildings along the national highway.

In Gangtok town, the state government employees reached the State Secretariat, the seat of power, but most of them did not enter the buildings which have cracked during the earthquake. Some temporary repairing works have begun but a number of senior officials of the Public Works Department present there expressed apprehension about the safety of the present building and suggested constructing a new one.