NDMA team surveys landslide-affected areas in Sikkim's Mangan district

Gangtok: A team of experts from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Wednesday conducted a comprehensive survey of the landslide-affected areas in Sikkim's Mangan district, officials said.

Accompanied by officials of the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA), the NDMA team led by Deputy Commandant Rajat Malhotra visited Mangshila, Naga, Sanklang and Phidang areas.

They identified several key factors, including heavy rainfall, steep slopes, challenging topography and unstable soil composition as the reasons behind the occurrence of landslides in the strategically located Mangan district in north Sikkim.

The team also recorded the significant damage to infrastructure, including roads, houses and agricultural land, besides displacement of the local people and the impact on the local economy and livelihood, they said.

The NDMA team also interacted with the locals and took note of their grievances and assured them of long-term solutions to their woes.

The team was briefed by Mangan District Magistrate Anant Jain about the overall situation arising out of the natural disaster in the region and suggested that the previous reports in this regard should be taken into account to understand the gravity of the situation.

The visiting NDMA officials said that a comprehensive report will be submitted to the higher authorities and the ministry concerned for formulation of a long-term plan to address the issue.

Torrential downpour in Mangan district last month had extensively damaged roads, leaving around 1,500 tourists stranded for a week, while six people were killed.