Aapdara slides again

MANGAN, 22 July: The slide at Aapdara Zero Point in Lower Tintek, East Sikkim has become active again and damaged a kutcha house on 21 July at around 10 pm.
A huge boulder which came down with the slide slammed into a kutcha house belonging to the caretaker of NHPC Mandir near Zero Point. This boulder, bigger than the one that came down last time and totaled a truck, broke into three pieces with one piece hitting the front engine of a 58-wheel trailer. The trailer was parked alongside the one damaged in the last slide that occurred last week.
It may be recalled that on 13 July a massive boulder had crashed through a 58-wheel trailer and also damaged the NHPC Stage-V damsite welcome gate.
One part of the boulder smashed the kutcha house while the other piece damaged the approach road to NHPC Damsite. Fortunately, no casualty has been reported as residents managed to escape during a minor slide that preceded the bigger one.
This also disrupted traffic along the Dikchu-Singtam highway which was later cleared for light vehicles and on Tuesday opened for heavier vehicles as well.
Meanwhile, three families of Aap Dara Zero Point, Jas Maya Rai, Indra Bahadur Adhikari and Shanker Gurung have shifted to a safer location nearby.