Stranded tourists return to Gangtok, holiday spirit intact

And excavator clears the debris from JN Marg at 15th Mile to make way for the stranded tourist motorcade to finally return to Gangtok. [pix courtesy TAAS]

AMEET OBEROI
GANGTOK, 31 May: More than 3,000 tourists were stranded at 15th Mile yesterday while returning from a Tsomgo-Baba Mandir- Nathula tour. After a sleepover at the army transit camp at 17 Mile, the tourists were brought back to Gangtok this morning after the debris which had blocked the road was cleared. Interestingly, the unreliability of the road does not appear to have dampened the holiday spirit, either of the stranded tourists or of a new batch which travelled up to Nathula today. A huge number of the stranded tourists today continued onwards to North Sikkim, continuing with their Sikkim holiday, even as nearly as many tourists travelled up to Nathula today, unaffected by the road block incident.
418 tourist vehicles and another 27 army and civilian vehicles had been stranded near 15th Mile at a height of 3,070 meters at around 4 p.m. on 30 May, the Travel Agents Association of Sikkim president, Lukendra Rasaily, confirmed while speaking to NOW! today.
It is learnt that the Border Roads Organisation [BRO] is carrying out back-cutting works along the Jawaharlal Nehru Road which leads upto Nathula. Yesterday, a low intensity blast in connection with roa widening works is believed to have triggered a mudslip at 15th Mile at around 2 p.m. blocking a long stretch of the road cutting off the returning tourists.
Although some vehicles are reported to have made it through even as the slide was starting, the slip gathered momentum and soon deposited tons of debris on the road. With the weather turning uncertain and clearance becoming dangerous, the stranded tourists were sent back to safety to 17th Mile where the army has a Transit Camp, informed Mr Rasaily.
“Rocks were falling between 2 to 3.30 p.m. but at 4 p.m. the slide became very intense with huge boulders and rocks started coming down,” the TAAS president stated and added that between 2 to 2.30 p.m. the police personnel on vigil were allowing vehicles to pass through the slide area but stopped vehicular movement completely at around 3.30 p.m. as the road was fully blocked, after which all the vehicles along with tourists were sent back.
This morning at around 5.30 a.m. the BRO pressed one JCB and one bulldozer on road clearing tasks, which was completed by 7.20 a.m., after which all stranded vehicles passed through safely and reached Gangtok, Mr Rasaily informed.
Additional Director [Tourism & Civil Aviation Department], Nima Choden Bhutia, along with other officials from the Tourism Department and TAAS members were also present at the spot, while police personnel from the Checkpost led by PI Savitri Pradhan safely monitored the movement of the vehicles from 15th Mile towards Gangtok, he informed.
None of the tourists faced any problems and reached Gangtok safely, he stressed. While some have returned to their respective destinations, others have left for North Sikkim to continue with their sight seeing, he added.
It was also learnt from the 3rd Mile Checkpost authorities that more than 400 vehicles left for Tsomgo and Baba Mandir today after the road block was cleared by the BRO this morning. Interestingly, a total of 1,100 vehicles that ferried tourists to these destinations on 27 May is said to be the highest ever. Normally, the minimum number of vehicles ferrying tourists to these destinations is around 800 per day.