Thousands of troops carry out relief operations in Sikkim

New Delhi, Sept 19 (PTI) Over 5,000 troops, six transport
aircraft and more than 15 helicopters have been deployed by
the armed forces in the quake hit northeastern Indian state
Sikkim to carry out relief operations.
Two army personnel died in the quake near Zima in North
Sikkim while a Junior Engineer of Border Roads Organisation
was reported killed during rescue operation, a Defence
Ministry release said here.
"Two MI-17 helicopters of the IAF carried relief material
and National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) to Lachen and
Mangan, the interior regions of North Sikkim," it said.
Landslides have cut off army's 112 brigade deployed in
the North Sikkim with the rest of the country.
"The road connecting Gangtok with North Sikkim has been
cut off at several places. Our three battalions and one
battalion of ITBP with over 4,500 men are present in that
area," Army sources said here.
They said connectivity has been maintained with the
formations there through helicopters and work is on to restore
the road, which is crucial for reaching the area bordering
China.
An alternative route to the area has also been proposed
by the Army but the project is not yet finalised due to lack
of environmental clearances, the sources said.
The Ministry said that over 5,000 army personnel,
including ten columns of army engineers each comprising 15-20
personnel, were pressed into action immediately after the
first tremor was felt.
"Troops stationed in the area have provided shelter to
over 1,500 people including 1,000 civilians at Gangtok and 200
civilians at Darjeeling," it said.
The IAF had dispatched two C-130J Hercules with 203 NDRF
personnel, sniffer dogs, search and rescue teams, medical
personnel and nine tonnes of relief materials including tents,
medicines and food stocks from Hindon to Bagdogra within hours
of the quake.
An Mi-17 helicopter with medical team and relief
equipment also took off from Bagdogra for Gangtok and two
Cheetah helicopters from Bagdogra carried out aerial recce
missions to assess the damage caused by the 6.8 magnitude
earthquake with its epicentre on Indo-Nepal border in Sikkim.
One IL-76 with 100 personnel of the No 2 NDRF battalion
and eight tonnes of material flew from Chandigarh to Bagdogra
this morning and will make another sortie tonight.
Officials said that the National Highway 31 connecting
Gangtok with Sukna in West Bengal has been reopened after it
was blocked after the earthquake.
Four ALH and five Cheetah helicopters are on standby at
Sukna Military Station. Two Cheetah and one MI-17 Helicopters
also on standby at Bagdogra Airbase. Besides this two Mi-17
helicopters are kept on standby at Guwahati.
"They will be operational once the weather improves," the
release said.