Sikkim: Landslides damage NHPC dam, snap road links to district bordering China

Heavy rains for the past one week have triggered a series of landslides snapping road links at several places between Gangtok and North Sikkim bordering China, and causing major damage to a dam of the NHPC in the East District, officials said on Saturday.

Landslides blocked two major roads that connect state capital Gangtok and Mangan, the headquarters of North Sikkim district, at multiple places affecting traffic movement.

Vehicles going from Gangtok to Mangan are being diverted via Dzongu-Sankalang Road due to a road blockade at Namok Khola, officials said, adding that restoration work was underway.

A massive landslide caused severe damage to a dam of the NHPC Teesta Stage-V project site at Apdara in East Sikkim, they said.

"The Teesta-V Power Station (3x170 MW) is a run of the river scheme with diurnal storage to harness the hydro-power potential of the Teesta river for peaking during the lean season," according to the NHPC.

Landslides have cut off Lum and Lingtyang villages in North Sikkim's Lower Dzongu, around 70 km from Gangtok, from the rest of the state, officials added.

Incessant rain has also led to slips and slides all along the North Sikkim Highway, snapping road links at several places.

Road communications in several routes such as Mangan-Gangtok, Dikchu-Gangtok and Dikchu-Singtam have been disrupted due to landslides, officials said, adding the Mangan-Gangtok road has been blocked at Phamtam near Phensong and Ambithang near Mangan.

Similarly, rocks and boulders have stopped movement of vehicles at several places such as Namok Khola, Tintek Khola and 9th Mile on Mangan-Singtam road.

The Dikchu-Gangtok road via Pangthang has been blocked at Sokpay for the past one week as people are taking an alternate route via Samdong-Ipsing.