By IANS,
Gangtok/New Delhi : Ten teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and a team of doctors were unable to reach quake-affected areas in Sikkim by Monday afternoon as landslides had blocked the national highway and rains hampered rescue operations.
“They have not reached the quake-hit areas till now,” an official of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said in New Delhi.
The NDRF teams reached Bagdogra airport in Siliguri in Sikkim’s neighbouring state of West Bengal, but could not proceed further as national highway 31 A was damaged by landslides triggered by Sunday’s powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake, the NDMA said.
The highway is the only road link to the hilly northeastern state of Sikkim.
“Ten teams of the NDRF left for Sikkim. Five were from Delhi and five from Kolkata. The teams are accompanied by electricians, medical officers, engineers,” said Amit Jha, joint secretary, NDMA.
The five teams from Delhi, comprising 176 rescue officers, 21 section officers, two medical officers, left Delhi 8 p.m. Sunday. From Kolkata, 181 rescue officers, 15 section officers and a medical officer left for Sikkim at around the same time.
“A team of 20 doctors also left for Sikkim Monday morning. The team includes seven anaesthesia technicians, four surgeons, five neurosurgeons, and paramedics,” Jha added.
According to sources, about 50 army columns in small teams were deployed across Sikkim, and at Siliguri and Binaguri in north Bengal for rescue operations on a war footing.
“The rescue operations are going on as already 50 army columns consisting of about 2,000 army personnel have been mobilised for relief operations and 400 Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel are also involved in rescue work,” Jha said.
The powerful earthquake, with its epicentre along the India-Nepal border in Sikkim has killed at least 35 people in India. The landslides triggered by it in the mountainous state of Sikkim are being cleared by the army.
About 10 army combat engineer columns were rushed with equipment for opening major roadblocks on the Siliguri-Gangtok road.
Apart from the army, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has also been mobilised for restoring normal traffic on NH-31A which connects Sikkim with the rest of the country.
“The BRO and army are trying to clear the road by the evening. We will know the exact information by evening as rescue operations are on. Apart from Sikkim, there is no widespread damage in other states,” Jha said.
The impact of the temblor was so powerful that several army buildings developed cracks.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has rushed five cargo planes to the northeast with relief material and personnel. Even as army deployed in the region works for relief and rescue, incessant rains are hampering operations.