The bodies of 26 people, including seven Army personnel, have been recovered so far as search operations continue in Sikkim after the flash flood in the Teesta river devastated the Himalayan state. According to reports, 142 people are still missing.
The Army and National Disaster Response Teams (NDRF) are working, both on foot and boats to recover bodies from the slush and debris. A few stories of hope are also being reported from Sikkim. A video shared by ITBP on social media platform X revealed that Himveers rescued 68 people who were cut off for the last three days in north Sikkim. After a massive search operation, the ITBP personnel rescued them from a height of 16,000 feet at which they were stranded.
The flash flood, said to be triggered by a cloudburst on Wednesday, affected over 25,000 people and damaged more than 1,200 houses. Road connectivity has been massively hit after the raging waters washed away 13 bridges. So far, 2,413 people have been rescued from different areas and 6,875 people are taking shelter in 22 relief camps set up across the state, PTI reported.
Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Friday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh for the families of the deceased and an immediate relief of Rs 2,000 each for all those taking shelter in the camps.
The search for the remaining missing soldiers is continuing both in Sikkim and the northern parts of West Bengal through which the Teesta flows, the chief minister said. One of the 23 Army personnel who went missing during the flash floods was rescued earlier.
Warning report on flash floods
As the natural calamity makes headlines, the limelight is back on an earlier study report warning the state of the a possible threat to hydropower projects on the Teesta river. A 2015 study done by the Central Water Commission Glacial Lake Outburst FloodSouth (GLOF), the same weather phenomenon that triggered that occurred earlier this week, could lead to severe flash floods and impact areas like Lachen, Chungthang, Dikchu, Singtam, Manipal, Rangpo, Bara Mungwa villages, and the entirety of hydropower projects Teesta I to VI along a 175-km stretch of the river. The study predicted a potential 4.45-metre increase in the river's water level due to a GLOF at South Lhonak Lake.
A GLOF occurred in parts of Lhonak Lake, leading to a rapid rise in water levels with very high velocities downstream along the Teesta River Basin in the early hours of October 4. This resulted in severe damage in Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong and Namchi districts. This further led to the breach of the Chungthang dam, a crucial component of the 1,200-megawatt (MW) Teesta Stage III Hydro Electric Project, the largest hydropower project in the state.
-with agency inputs